A Land Rover running on steam, hasn’t that crossed your mind? And yet this is what this Englishman, unlike any other, has achieved
We tend to forget it, but one of the first technologies to drive the horse-less automobile was steam. But very bulky and inefficient, water and coal were quickly abandoned.
Un look inimitable !
Frank Rothwell nevertheless decided to separate a brave 1967 Land Rover from its traditional combustion engine. And why will you ask? Well, to replace it with a whole steam plant. We have to admit it, the fireplace enthroned at the front of the vehicle gives it a crazy charm!
A crazy project
If the project seems completely blocked, it is almost nothing for Mr Rothwell who is certainly not someone like everyone else. Last year he lifted 1, £ 1million (around 1.3 million euros) for Alzheimer’s disease in sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. Alone. At 70 years old. We told you, it is not just anyone, and the construction of this steam Land Rover looks to him more like a recreation that has a real job.
The idea for this atypical transformation came to him after visiting a steam engine exhibition. He then decided to buy a kit Foden 1910 (an early 20th century steam truck) relatively similar in weight and size to the original block of the English 4 × 4.
Useless but essential
However, it must be recognized that in terms of practicality, the venerable Land lost in exchange. Significantly less maneuverable, thick vapor and top speed limited to 20 km / h. But if all this is perfectly unnecessary, then it is certain that it is absolutely essential. We don’t doubt the pleasure for a moment that its owner takes during his walks on the roads of the English countryside.
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