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Highway Aircraft Corporation's "Fascination" Car

The Fascination car was the creation of a Mr. Paul Lewis, an American, the creator of the Airomobile.  The first Fascination car was built in the late 1960s.  A total of 5 cars were built, and all have survived. Many things about this vehicle are fascinating, not the least of which is the body style - a combination of space-age design and 1950s Detroit excess.  But perhaps the most outstanding feature was the propulsion unit that was to be adopted - the Papp Noble Gas Plasma Engine. The original advertisement says: Thermonuclear Nobel Gas Plasma Engine There is a new type of thermonuclear energy operating the Nobel Plasma engine. This engine is a closed two-cycle reciprocating engine, that has no intake, uses no air, emitting no exhaust at all. A hermetic gas chamber is created by the telescopic fitting of two cylindrical units each open at one end, fitting one over the other to permit extension and retraction of the unit under the cycling pulses of a varying gas pressure confined within the chamber. The fuel is self-contained and hermetically sealed in the cylinders which are initially charged at the time of manufacturing, carrying their own power supply, that will last approximately 60 to 75 thousand miles, with no fall of efficiency. The cylinders can be recharged quickly and simply for about $25 to $30 per cylinder depending on the size of the engine. The Fascination will eventually be powered by this new energy source.

I have a small photo table here.  I don't know the source of these photos; they were forwarded to me some time ago, by a friend in Rome who knew of my interest.  I would be happy to acknowledge any copyright or ownership of these, and I do so with thanks.

In addition to the futuristic streamlined jet-plane-look, the car featured tubular steel roll bars for collision protection, impact-absorbing bumpers, and a 3-wheel ride.  The car actually had 4 wheels, with the two front units mounted close together as on an aircraft. The Papp Noble Gas Engine You may want to read the story of Joseph Papp's marvelous (and fuel-less) engine - whose secret died with him some years ago.  Briefly, the engine was a modified standard gasoline auto engine that was sealed and used a combination of noble gases (Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon) for fuel that was not consumed due to some kind of nuclear fusion.  The details are unclear and Mr. Papp would never let anyone know the details and proportions of the gases. For sure, the engine ran, many times, with witnesses, but little more is known.  However, the story is fascinating and the possiblities are tempting.  Several groups claim to have discovered the essential secret to this kind of engine and say they will soon be demonstrating prototypes, but nothing so far. The best introduction to Joseph Papp and his engine is this article reproduced from the San Jose Mercury News, written by David Ansley.  It seems to present a disinterested assessment and it provides many small details of information. Click here for the article.