War surplus would be the trigger that would lead to carmakers and designers to fit more powerful aircraft engines to their cars, offering greater power output in the pursuit of speed.

Early piston-engined adaptations would produce some of the fastest and most successful land speed record attempts, with their readily available supply of engines and sharing the same basic internal combustion design making for easy installation.

As speeds increased, the transition to turbines and jet engines offering more power and speed, though the jet engine, in particular, would see the end of the wheels being driven directly by the power unit.

10 Brutus - Thirsty, Loud & Fire Spitting

3D Car Shows

Owners with fuel consumption concerns should look away now, Brutus, powered by a 47-liter BMW aircraft engine generating 550hp, returns a wallet punishing 2.8mpg.

Early aviation engines despite their huge capacities are not especially powerful, which when combined with the dated 1907 chassis and chain drive probably isn't a particularly bad thing. Although rated at 550hp for continual performance, Brutus can run at higher engine speeds for short periods yielding 750hp.

9 Howmet TX - 2 Times Race Winner

Hagerty

Other carmakers previously showed interest in turbine-powered racing cars but due to lack of public interest and reliability proved to be unsuccessful.

Combining a custom-built space frame chassis with a prototype TS-325 turbine engine from an abandoned helicopter program proved a race-winning design. Comparatively small with its 3-liter capacity the mid-mounted turbine engine spinning at 57,000rpm generated 350hp driving the rear wheels.

Entered as the Howmet TX in 11 events, claiming two pole positions and two race wins, the only turbine car to win a race.

8 Lotus 56 Indy Car - Innovative Design

Revivaler

Team Lotus already successful innovators in Formula entered the Indianapolis 500 in 1968 with three examples of the turbine-powered Lotus 56 racer.

With its history of innovation, Lotus designed and built the 56 models using the small Pratt & Whitney ST6 turbine generating 430hp installed in the streamlined lightweight four-wheel-drive chassis. Unfortunately, all three entries failed to make the finish line, though experience proved valuable with the Lotus 56 forming the basis of the team's later successful F1 entrants.

RELATED: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Lotus Cars

7 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II - V12 Merlin Power

Motorius

Rolls-Royce, despite being most famously associated with producing luxury cars, is more successful in building aircraft engines that power some of the greatest aircraft ever built.

Under the hood of Jay Leno's 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II sits the same V12 Merlin engine fitted to the Supermarine Spitfire producing 1,700hp. When originally built this car was never designed with such a powerful engine in mind, with the car being later upgraded with a more suitable manual transmission.

6 Plymouth Radial Air Truck - 1930s Retro Styled

Roadkill customs

Front engined cars with aircraft engines tend to be in-line V12 motors making the installation an easier process, this 1939 Plymouth though uses a radial engine which gives it a unique look.

Under, or rather in place of the hood, sits a Jacobs R-755 radial engine from a Cessna generating 300hp through a belt-driven automatic transmission. Styling borrows heavily from vintage aircraft design featuring riveted aluminum panels, a theme carried over into the cab.

5 Bloodhound LSR- Aiming For 1,000mph

Bloomberg

UK based Grafton LSR responsible for the rescue and continued development of the Bloodhound project, aiming to break the current land speed record and reach 1,000mph.

Adopting the Rolls-Royce EJ200 turbofan from the Eurofighter aircraft program to provide Bloodhound with 21,000lb of thrust accelerating to 650mph, where a secondary rocket motor will generate the additional power to reach 1,0000mph.

Currently, still in the development stages, the Bloodhound LSR program reaching speeds over 600mph using the EJ200 alone.

RELATED: Bloody Fast! 1,000+ MPH Capable Bloodhound Set To Break World Speed Record

4 Tucker 48 - Rare Limited Production Car

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Most of the cars featuring aircraft engines are either designed for racing or built by enthusiasts as unique one-off cars, with just the Tucker 48 made in small production numbers.

Tucker originally planned to use their own engine to power the Tucker 48 but low power output and high-oil pressure requirements forced the company to look for alternatives. Eventually selecting the Franklin 0-335 6-cylinder engine adapted for water-cooling produced the 160hp promised by designer  Preston Tucker.

Only produced in 1948 hence the name, just 50 examples were completed.

3 Vampire Jet Car - UK LSR Holder (Once)

Speed Ace

Featured on BBC Top Gear in 2006 aiming to break the British land speed record, presenter Richard Hammond while driving Vampire suffered a catastrophic tire failure causing the car to roll several times.

Vampire, powered by a Rolls-Royce Orpheus Jet engine, generated 4,500lbs of thrust capable of reaching 272mph in six seconds, with a final estimated top speed of 370mph. On the single run Vampire with Hammond driving reached 306mph.

Destroyed in the accident the wreckage of Vampire was later sold on auction site eBay.

RELATED: 20 Ridiculous Looking Cars That Actually Set World Records

2 Packard Royal Streamliner - Frequent Gas Stops Required

Trussty Jasmine

Not only does the Packard Royal Streamliner share its engine origins from an aircraft but it also has a sleek aircraft influenced body construction of riveted aluminum panels.

Oddly opting for a marine version of the Packard V12 aircraft engine presented more issues than was necessary, with cooling requirements dictating the use of 4 radiators and 25 gallons of coolant. Generating 1,600hp and a more impressive 3,000lbs of torque burns around 100 gallons of gas for every 150 miles traveled,

1 Napier-Railton - Serial LSR Breaker

Napier-Railton
Via: Supercars.net

Surplus aircraft engines would frequently find homes in hand-built racing cars, often used in the case of the Napier Railton to set speed records, something owner John Cobb achieved on 47 separate occasions.

Unique in having a triple-bank engine layout the 24-liter Napier Lion engine generated 580hp giving the Railton its top speed of 168mph at the expense of fuel economy, managing to return just 5mpg.

Currently owned by Brooklands Motor museum, the Napier Railton is a regular feature at the annual Goodwood Revival.

NEXT: 10 Unexpected Engine Swaps That Are Absolute Madness