Two-wheeled Gyro-X 1967 with "cart balance" device

In 1967, at the International Auto Show "Wonderful World of Wheels" in New York, the public was shown an interesting car. An unstable and unsafe design, the two-wheeled vehicle was presented by Alex Tremulis and Thomas Summers. The former is a renowned stylist who earned a place in the American Automobile Hall of Fame. The latter is a gyroscope expert. Both worked for the auto company Gyro Transport Systems.


The designers positioned their brainchild as a revolutionary car with a gyroscope. The car did not fall over when turning, and maintained a stable vertical position relative to the plane of the earth. The Gyro-X concept, according to the authors, would lead the mechanical engineering industry down a different path. In any case, the unusual car prompted thoughts about design changes in the ground transport future.

Gyroscope: what is it

Anyone who had a toy top as a child is familiar with the device. The top, a simple gyroscope, lies on its side until you spin it. Then it “dances” on its sharp tip, maintaining a vertical position, i.e., does not lose its orientation in space.


Hardly every thousandth person can clearly explain the ongoing physical process, kinetic energy and other intricacies. And even fewer can derive practical benefit from the rotation of a simple mechanism. The phenomenon is called gyroscopic precession.

Let's go back for a second to the 3rd century BC. Then the engineer Philo of Byzantium invented an inkwell with eight holes, from which, no matter how you turned it, the liquid did not spill. The scientist installed the writing utensil in the center of ingeniously designed concentric metal rings.

Further evolution of the mechanism

The idea was developed in 1550 by the physicist Gerolamo Cardano. The Italian invented a device that is now called a gimbal suspension. Scientifically speaking, it is a universal hinged support, the basis of a gyroscope. If a rotating body (rotor) is placed inside the suspension, it will maintain the vector of the torsion axis regardless of the spatial position of the mechanism itself.


Cardan suspensions (gyroscopes) have long been successfully used in navigation. Compasses and chronometers are installed, which are in a kind of "motionless", stable vertical position during pitching. Drinking water is transported on ships in the same way, without spilling. Cardan suspensions are in demand in aviation and astronautics.

Prerequisites for the birth of gyrocars

An excellent experience of using gyroscopes, let us remember, was on railways. At the beginning of the 20th century, engineers were massively captivated by the idea monorails, when the cars move along a single railway line. A colossal, we note, savings on sleepers and rails.

The construction was accompanied by criticism and skepticism. However, the monorail in the German city of Wuppertal, opened in 1901, is still in operation today. Why not build 2-wheeled vehicles on the same principle, the car designers thought.


The benefit is obvious:

✅ Savings on wheels and body panels
✅ Low-power motors and low fuel consumption
✅ Best acceleration dynamics and controllability
✅ Simple design and high maintainability

Excuse me, but there is motorcycles!.. Of course, but with many disadvantages: low load capacity, lack of comfort in the form of comfortable seats, lack of protection from wind and rain, instability at rest.

In short, the time has come to build gyrocars.

The first gyroscopic car of Count Peter Shilovsky

Our compatriot born in 1871 had an outstanding mind. The hereditary nobleman could have governed the Kostroma province and enjoyed life. But he became interested in the works of I. Bonenberger (1817) and Foucault (1852). He began to model gyroscopes. The count saw enormous potential for transport in the mysterious mechanisms.


In 1909, Pyotr Petrovich Shilovsky patented a "Device for maintaining the balance of carts or other unstable bodies." As part of the St. Petersburg Exhibition of 1911, he built a monorail, which was highly appreciated by Emperor Nicholas II himself.

Inspired by his success, the enthusiast asked for money to create a car with a gyroscope. Having received a loud silence in response, he went to England. In the Wolseley Tool & Motorcar Company studio, a prototype of a gyrocar was assembled using the drawings of a Russian citizen.

What a car it was. One longitudinal axle, two wheels on it: front and rear. The car's layout included an internal combustion engine and a 110-volt electric motor. The latter set the rotation of the 600-kilogram gyroscope rotor. The electric motor was powered by a dynamo machine connected to the main engine.


The vehicle weighed 2 kg. At its premiere in 750, the car received a standing ovation from those present. The Count already saw himself as a major manufacturer of gyrocars. But the First World War shattered his dreams.

Ford Gyron 1961: “test of writing” by Alex Tremulis and Thomas Summers

As the years went by, gyroscopes improved. But they found application anywhere but in the mechanical engineering industry. In 1961, however, the Blue Oval exhibited a futuristic, creepy Ford Gyron concept at the Detroit Auto Show.

The dummy with a gyroscope inside stood on 2 wheels without falling to the side. When you pressed on the side, the car returned to its original position. In the cabin, instead of a steering wheel, there was a computer, and the dashboard was replaced by a periscope with a panoramic camera.


With this model, the developers – the previously mentioned Tremulis and Summers – outlined their vision of progressive cars. The current model was not long in coming.

Gyro-X 1967 Review

Six years later, engineers rolled out a viable concept of the Giro-X with gyroscopic stabilization for the public to judge. An aluminum single-seat body of an aerodynamic shape was constructed on a tubular frame. A sort of small torpedo with dimensions: length 6 mm, height 1600 mm.


The petrol engine from the Mini Cooper is located behind the driver's seat. The characteristics and performance data of the power unit are as follows:

✅ Volume - 1275 cm³
✅ Power - 80 liters. With.
✅ Maximum speed - 200 km / h
✅ Fuel consumption – 3 l/100 km

The engine supplied torque to the rear wheel via a chain drive. Speaking of the rollers, they were narrow with oval profiles. This solution allowed for the minimization of energy loss from friction with the road.

The engineers included two supporting wheels in the design, which were retracted into the car body during movement and covered with protective surfaces. However, the same insurance was used in the model of Count Shilovsky and Ford's Gyron.

Other information about the model

The main beauty, highlight, and feature of the car was hidden by the front hood. It worked in the engine compartment - a complex gyroscope with several cardan suspensions.

Inside the device, the developers installed a rotor weighing 104 kg. It was spun from 4 to 6 thousand rpm by hydraulic pumps. The large weight and rotation speed allowed the resulting forces to balance the full weight of the car. No sideways rollovers or overturns with the gyroscope working.


The car was obedient in motion, smoothly took turns. But at speeds over 100 km/h it became uncontrollable. The creators realized the shortcomings and mistakes, and intended to correct the shortcomings. They wanted to increase the number of seats, make a trunk, and experiment with body types. But they didn’t have time: they went bankrupt.

It's a shame that the car was abandoned right on the street. The car was rusting, no one needed it. The "Gyro-X" in an unsightly state was bought and resold several times. In 2011, the model found a new owner - the owner of a museum of rare vehicles.

Jeff Lane spent $500 to restore the rarity. Half of the amount went to a gyroscope ordered from Italy. Now the outlandish thing is shown at exhibitions and auto shows.