Chinese Startup Touts High-Mileage Turbine-Electric Technology

Techrules, a mysterious Beijing-based startup company, says it has developed a turbine-electric supercar that generates 1,000 hp and can travel more than 1,200 miles between charges.

The company will unveil its TREV concept next month at the Geneva auto show. The vehicle is powered by what’s described as a range-extending turbine recharging system. No other details have been released, other than claims that the car will include several innovations that deliver “unprecedented advances” in efficiencies and dynamic performance.

Other carmakers have experimented with turbine-powered vehicles in the past—both in mechanical and electric setups—but none has come to fruition.

In 2010, Jaguar partnered with Bladon Jets on the C-X75 concept electric vehicle that used a pair of micro-turbines to charge the car’s battery. Four electric motors generated a combined 780 hp and nearly 1,200 lb-ft of torque.

Jaguar’s turbines were designed to run on a variety of fuels, including diesel, natural gas and liquid petroleum gas. The company estimated the vehicle would have a 560-mile driving range, including 70 miles in all-electric mode.