When street rod builder Randy Grubb and Michael Leed came across two M47 Patoon Tank engines, they immediately bought them and began sketching ideas for cars to build around the massive engines. The 1792 cubic-inch SOHC aluminum V-12 engine is air-cooled and fed by dual two-barrel carburetors. Power output is estimated at 1200 bhp @ 2800 and 1500 lb-ft of torque. The massive powerplant is mated to an Allison 3-speed automatic transmission originally designed to handle the workload of a Greyhound bus. The first Blastolene Indy Special was finished in 2002 and then quickly sold to Jay Leno.

This is the second and only other tank-powered car built by the artists at Blastolene. The hand-built aluminum body was formed in the spirit of the shark-nosed Watson Roadsters that were very successful at Indy in the 1950s and 1960s but nearly twice the size. With a 160-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 270 inches, it's no wonder this creation weighs in at 8400 lbs.

by Symbolic Motors