Dragsters and funny cars are pretty dangerous as is, but this one shoots flames right at the driver's head and rewards his loyalty with 200 mph quarter mile passes.
Green Monster 19 belongs to Tim Arfons, the son of three-time world land speed record holder Art Arfons. This is a modern take of the original dragster that his father used in the '70s. Back then, it used a General Motors T-58 turbine engine that made somewhere in the region of 1,300 horsepower.
Today's Green Monster is both a race car and a showpiece. The chassis is immaculately painted in candy apple green paint and detailed with chrome. Back in the '60s, GM really did think that it could power trucks and cars using gas turbine engines, but that never worked out. So ignoring all the big-block nitro V8s and stuffing a helicopter engine in front of the driver is a bit odd.
Yes, there are plenty of jet-powered rockets at the drag strip that can shoot flames. The difference is that the Green Monster doesn't use them to propel itself, as the gas turbine engine is connected to the rear wheels, just like it would be connected to the propeller on a helicopter. Heck, it even has a useful reverse gear.
Since its debut in 2012, Green Monster has been at plenty of nostalgia and exhibition events. However, this nitromethane monster is hardly a pensioner. During one of its passes at the Quaker City Motorsports Park (in Salem, Ohio), the vehicle was clocked at 7.25 seconds with a trap speed of 199.38 mph.
Can you imagine hitting the Lamborghini Gallardo's top speed over just a quarter of a mile?
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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