Ron Patrick drives some pretty hot wheels; so hot, in fact, that the car is equipped with a built-in fire extinguishing system.
Sound dangerous? It is. Patrick, PhD ’89, created what may be the California Highway Patrol’s worst nightmare: a 2000 Volkswagen Beetle fitted with a 1,450 horsepower jet engine.
It was a combination of boredom and the thirst for a unique engineering challenge that drew him to the project, explains Patrick, owner of Sunnyvale-based ECM (Engine Control and Monitoring).
“Most people think I’m insane,” he admits. “But all the Stanford people I’ve met seem to get it.”
Patrick spent decades tinkering with cars before deciding to build the Jet Beetle. Four years and nearly half a million dollars later, he produced a vehicle that can easily reach speeds beyond what the Bug’s gauges can measure. Although he has yet to push it past 140 mph on any of his surreptitious test drives down Highway 237, Patrick predicts that at 160 mph the car will begin to lift off the ground.
Now if only he can fly fast enough to avoid the cops.
