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Comment by oedoedxef | Hacker News Reader

I'm all for awesome engineering projects, in which this project is not deficient, however if this thing can be street legal then I don't understand why so many other cars are not allowed to be.

Even when this thing is working as intended. it's shooting hot flames out the back.

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Most laws around street legality center around certification of the chassis, safety equipment, and emissions. Don't run the jet engine during a smog test, and prove that all the necessary safety equipment function (signals, airbags, seatbelts, etc), and you're going to pass. This is why most kit cars depend on a "donor" chassis that gets stripped down and have the new car built on top of.

California DMV said this was not street legal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faZT8JAq7Qw

> Don't run the jet engine during a smog test

You wouldn't happen to work for a large German automotive company with the letters V and W in the name, would you?

Actually, the jet-powered car in question does just so happen to have those two letters adorning its crest.

I'm pretty sure it's only street legal while the jet engine is turned off. Then you're just transporting a jet engine on the back of a Beetle, right?

That's what I thought too, but then the post says "That said, I do enjoy the occasional blast down the highway." and suddenly I'm not so sure...

I've also seen a mini-cooper on youtube with a jet in the back doing the same thing on the highway :)

It might be cool from an engineering perspective, but it's fucking stupid from a "there are other people on the road who's lives are now in danger" perspective.

Maybe. There are certainly places where you can find long straight runs of highway with no on ramps. Do that in the middle of the night and you are unlikely to encounter another vehicle.

Go to a racetrack. Unlikely isn't good enough.

I'm sure that's not legal, but then, neither are more conventional blasts down the highway.

>the occasional blast down the highway

if he were to install the engine into the vertical position, he could have enjoyed occasional blast _over_ highway as the thrust of this engine (even without adding turbofan) seems to be just about enough to lift a stripped down VW Beetle.

i mean.... where's the law that says that it's _illegal_?

Noise ordinances would be the easiest way it would be illegal, then hazard zone produced by the jet exhaust is not marked as that zone likely falls under same regulations as carrying a pole or other cargo that extends out back of the vehicle.

I'd imagine the majority of cases involve modifications to the existing powertrain and drivetrain, which is highly regulated in California. I think since the original engine is intact and (probably?) unmodified, it can be street legal as long as the jet isn't actually operating.

I think pretty much anything with lights, brakes, and seatbelts can be street legal as a one-off. The stricter regulations come into play for series production.

Take a look at the Roadkill episode where they made the Monte Carlo and then took it to get registered and the DMV lady came out to inspect in and just walked away after looking at the color scheme. Everything was structurally fine, it just looked beat up with surface rust.

well this jet car is also street legal

https://www.motor1.com/news/131074/jay-leno-ecojet-window-lo...

It's definitely not street legal... not with the jet engine running at least.

You're not allowed to incinerate the guy behind you when the light turns green.

Advertised as street legal in the post.

Sort of. It's advertised as legal with the gasoline engine. I take it "then, when you want to have some fun" means "when the Police aren't around."

> The idea is that you drive around legally on the gasoline engine then, when you want to have some fun, spin up the jet and get on the burner (you can start the jet while driving along on the gasoline engine).

It has a license plate on it.

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