Chevrolet Astro III
America’s answer to the Reliant Robin... or futuristic ‘moonshot’ of the automotive world using turbine technology that was never to be? Either way, Richard Heseltine thinks Chevy’s Astro III was truly out of this world…
Richard Heseltine
The Sixties saw a raft of starry-eyed futurists insist that gas turbines were destined to usurp the internal combustion engine. Chrysler in particular was evangelical about this method of propulsion. General Motors also experimented, not least with turbine-equipped commercial vehicles which it promised would be hitting the highways by 1971. And then there was this: a turbine-powered trike which, GM reasoned, is what the future was crying out for. Except, strictly speaking, the Chevrolet Astro III wasn’t a three-wheeler. Sort of. Ish. It all rather depends on your level of pedantry.
Reputedly the brainchild of John DeLorean, this bizarre contraption followed on from two prior Astro concept queens, the first of which was a Corvair-based machine, the other a gorgeous mid-engined would-be Corvette. The last show-stopper in the trilogy was something else entirely. Unveiled at the 1969 Chicago Auto Show, Astro III employed an Allison Type 250-C18 gas turbine that purportedly produced 317bhp and was intended for use in helicopters (Allison was a subsidiary of GM). Power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a Hydra-Matic transmission.
The styling was apparently inspired by contemporary business jets, and incorporated a lift-up canopy for means of access. This design element was almost obligatory for concept cars in period, as was the use of joystick controls. With the powered canopy raised, the pilot and co-pilot were then obliged to get their bums into the ‘elevator seats’ which then lowered them into position with the touch of a button. The angle of the seats could be described as ‘semi-repose’ in true fighter-aircraft style. Rear visibility was at something of a premium given the lack of a rear screen, but fortunately Astro III came equipped with a rear camera and a TV monitor. The rectangular headlights, meanwhile, were concealed in the flanks and popped out when needed.
Weighing in at 892kg (1966lb), and barely 0.9m (3ft) off the deck, this was a radical-looking device for sure, but performance figures were conspicuously absent from PR bumf of the period. It is also worth mentioning that, contrary to reports from the time, Astro III wasn’t a three-wheeler in the strictest sense. The front wheels were mounted so close together as to be almost rubbing against each other. Apparently, for reasons we don’t even begin to comprehend, when two wheels are a certain distance apart they qualify as one… This wasn’t a drivable prototype, mind. In concept car parlance, it was a ‘pusher’.
Oddly, Astro III made few show appearances in period. It didn’t signal the end of GM’s interest in three-wheelers, though. The GM 511 Commuter was released that same year, complete with a lift-up canopy but a rather more conventional 1.1-litre Opel four-banger in place of a turbine. Scroll forward to 1983, and the unofficially dubbed ‘Lean Machine’ was unleashed. Powered by a two-cylinder engine (of Honda origins), the whole body learned into corners. It subsequently appeared in sci-fi action movie Demolition Man.
As for Astro III, it survived the scrapman’s torch and is currently in the keep of the GM Heritage collection.