---
title: "Behold the Boeing Jet-Powered Outhouse That Runs a 31-Second Quarter-Mile"
description: "This jet-engined outhouse can apparently hit 70 mph, making it the world's fastest."
date: "2021-11-25"
modified: "2021-11-25"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/43240/behold-the-boeing-jet-powered-outhouse-that-runs-a-31-second-quarter-mile"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Aviation"
---

# Behold the Boeing Jet-Powered Outhouse That Runs a 31-Second Quarter-Mile

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2021/11/Porta-Potty-Hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

The best thing about world records is that you can just make one up, and people will consider it worth beating, even if it's for [drinking a whole bottle of ketchup through a straw](<https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/fastest-time-to-drink-a-bottle-of-ketchup>). We do this all the time in motorsport; records are endlessly subdivided by a vehicle's number of wheels, its street legality, propulsion type, bodywork, [the surface it raced on](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/42729/this-porsche-356-on-skis-could-set-a-land-speed-record-in-antarctica>), and so forth. Setting a new record is as simple as making sure your car doesn't fit any preexisting category, like a former IndyCar and NASCAR mechanic did when he built what's considered the world's fastest jet-powered outhouse: The Port-O-Jet.

This contraption was constructed sometime in the early 2000s by one Paul Stender, whom [*Autoblog*](<https://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/04/dont-forget-to-flush-1-000hp-jet-powered-port-o-potty/>) identifies as a former race mechanic, and who's apparently known in some circles as "Jet Car Paul." [*Metro*](<https://metro.co.uk/2007/05/01/flaming-hell-its-a-jet-propelled-loo-326810/>) reports he built the machine in a week's time on an inflation-adjusted budget of under $10,000, utilizing [a go-kart chassis](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/37411/youtuber-builds-a-30-mph-go-kart-out-of-giant-3d-printed-lego-pieces>), some scrap tubing for reinforcement, and a fake wood Country Classic outhouse for the body per [*Popular Science*](<https://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2004-12/speeding-outhouse/>). Operating the outhouse required installing a twist throttle and hydraulic handbrake as well as extending the steering upward to a pair of handlebars. Of the driving experience, Stender unsurprisingly says it "drives a bit like an outhouse."

https://youtube.com/embed/dZbbfUYvjxg

But cornering comes second to straight-line speed, for which the outhouse was outfitted with a military surplus jet engine, specifically a [Boeing T50](<https://www.boeing.com/history/products/model-502-gas-turbine-engine.page>) (or Model 502) turboshaft from a Navy minesweeper. Before you ask, no, it doesn't run on natural gas; it burns JP-4 jet fuel and produces 300 shaft horsepower. More important, though, is the hundreds of pounds of thrust it generates with its JP-8 afterburner, which according to Stender can push the outhouse up to 70 mph with a tailwind and onto a 31-second quarter-mile.

As such, the Port-O-Jet is sometimes [regarded as the world's fastest outhouse](<https://www.facebook.com/voloautomuseum/posts/10159705007277070>), and though that's not (yet) [a record officially tracked by Guinness](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/37258/that-331-mph-ssc-tuatara-is-good-and-all-but-here-are-some-more-interesting-world-record-cars>), we haven't found anyone claiming the contrary. It would seem people aren't building a lot of jet-powered outhouses for obvious reasons, and instead—in the case of Stender's friend Tim Arfons—prefer jet-powered bar stools. Stender acknowledges having raced his outhouses against Arfons' bar stool four times, and he came away the winner twice. Sounds like we need people to build a bunch more jet cars like these so they can set up a league, and offer a form of barstool sports worth consuming.

https://youtube.com/embed/J3o3S5DO8xI

https://youtube.com/embed/tcSALjYjbyU

*Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com*

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)