The 1953 General Motors Firebird I concept car was powered by a gas turbine engine.
Known internally as the XP-21, Firebird I was developed by General Motors Research and later displayed as an experimental automobile inspired by jet aircraft. Its Whirlfire gas turbine was not a piston engine: fuel was burned continuously to produce expanding gases that spun turbine machinery and delivered power through reduction gearing.
The engine was rated at about 370 horsepower and expelled extremely hot exhaust, reportedly around 1,250°F. The single-seat car had a fiberglass, bullet-shaped body, a bubble canopy, short wings and a vertical tail fin. GM’s goal was to investigate whether turbine propulsion could work in a road vehicle, not to create a practical production car.
Rotary is a tempting wrong answer because a gas turbine contains rotating machinery, but “rotary engine” normally refers to a different piston-engine design. Firebird I was also not electric and did not use a conventional V8. GM continued the Firebird series with Firebird II and Firebird III, but turbine fuel economy, heat, throttle response and cost prevented the technology from replacing ordinary automotive engines.