Replicarz to launch 1/18 scale 1967 STP-Paxton Turbine Indy Car

The Replicarz 1/18 scale 1967 STP Paxton turbine. Photos by Mark Fothergill, courtesy Replicarz, unless otherwise noted.

With driver Parnelli Jones in the cockpit, the STP-sponsored, turbine-powered number 40 Indy Car ran in the lead throughout much of the 1967 Indianapolis 500, until the failure of a $6 bearing cost Jones a near-certain victory. You can’t own the original 1967 STP-Paxton Turbine Indy Car, which was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by STP and is on semi-permanent loan to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, but thanks to Vermont’s own Replicarz, you’ll soon be able to buy a stunning 1/18 scale model.

According to Andy Granatelli, only the wheels and the car’s Pratt & Whitney turbine engine were produced by outside vendors, in order to keep the revolutionary race car secret as long as possible. Despite its think-outside-the-box engineering, the car’s turbine engine, offset driver position, air brake and Ferguson four-wheel drive were all within the scope of the 1967 USAC rulebook, and few took the car as a serious threat during practice and qualifying. On pole day, Jones could average no more than 166.075 MPH, good enough for sixth on the grid but nearly three MPH slower than pole sitter Mario Andretti, who managed an average of 168.982 MPH.

Parnelli Jones at Indianapolis in 1967. Photo courtesy Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 1967 race began on a Tuesday, under cloudy skies. Andretti led from the green flag, but only into turn one, when a surprisingly quiet but blindingly fast red car, carrying the number 40 in a black meatball, swept past on the outside. Jones had shot from sixth to first in less than the length of a straight, and after averaging an opening lap of 154 MPH, quickly began to grow his lead on the field. A spin on lap three would again bunch the field, but it was rain that brought a halt to the race on lap 19.

Detail of the Pratt & Whitney turbine. Photo courtesy Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The next-day restart began with little drama, but on lap 52 Lee Roy Yarbrough, who’d spun on lap three during the previous day, washed the back end a second time, collecting race leader Jones in the process. Despite the contact, both cars were able to continue, but Jones’s day nearly ended again on lap 80, when he pulled from the pits with a fuel hose still attached to the turbine car. Luckily, the mishap didn’t result in a fire, and Jones was able to rejoin the field without a significant delay.

Crashes or mechanical failures claimed many of the pre-race favorites, including Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, and Gordon Johncock. It was Johncock’s spin on lap 193 that brought out the race’s penultimate yellow flag, erasing the near-full-lap lead that Jones had built over second place A.J. Foyt. With a mere four laps remaining, Jones lost power in the turbine car and rolled to a halt near pit in, his race over. Scored with completing 196 laps, Jones would finish in sixth position, ironically the exact same position in which the car qualified.

The performance of the turbine car drew the attention of USAC officials, and the rules regarding turbine-powered cars were re-written for the 1968 running of the Indianapolis 500, significantly limiting their performance. Despite this, Andy Granatelli returned with the turbine-powered Lotus 56, while Carroll Shelby initially entered turbine-powered cars of his own, withdrawing the (potentially illegal) entries following the death of Lotus 56 driver Mike Spence in practice on May 7. Granatelli’s Lotus 56 turbines, driven in the race Art Pollard and Joe Leonard, performed surprisingly well up until laps 188 and 191, respectively. Both cars retired with a snapped fuel shaft, and with little fanfare, the era of the turbine car at Indianapolis had come to an end. The cars were banned outright by USAC for the 1969 race.

As the car that ushered in a legitimate threat to convention at the Brickyard, Andy Granatelli’s 1967 STP-Paxton Turbine Indy Car deserves a permanent position in American racing history. From the photos we’ve seen of the Replicarz model, the level of detail is stunning, down to the ST6B-62 turbine beneath the removable engine cover, the aluminum monocoque hidden behind the nose cone, the glass-faced gauges and even the accurate wiring and plumbing. At $249.99 it isn’t inexpensive, but for fans of Indy Car history, it’s a price worth paying. Preorders are being accepted now, with deliveries expected to begin in the first quarter of 2016. Visit Replicarz.com to learn more.