Video: The ‘Greatest Steam Car Ever Built’ — Doble E-20

There is so much discussion these days about the transition from internal combustion vehicles vs. electric vehicles, but not much at all about steam-powered vehicles. Maybe they are not practical for personal transportation, but the steam engine signaled the beginning of the modern technological age and there were people in the early days of the automobile who thought that the steam car could compete with the ICE.

I did a little searching about steam cars and I found this fascinating video of Jay Leno talking about a car he owns: the 1925 Doble Steam car, designed by engineer Abner Doble.

Leno states that this is the best steam car ever built. It is completely silent because it is a closed system, the steam is superheated (around 750 degrees) and is recycled. It weighs 2.5 tons, has no gears, and the car was clocked at 132.5 miles per hour in 1925 with Howard Hughes driving.

Jay Leno says in this video, “it makes you wonder what they could do with modern technology, and computers and stuff with steam.” If Andrea Rossi’s E-Cat can produce heat efficiently, I wonder if there could still be a role for steam vehicles.