Let's say, completely hypothetically, that I wanted a small gas turbine engine for purposes that aren't in any way nefarious at all. Let's even set some hypothetical criteria that I might want: maybe car-engine sized (completely coincidentally mind you), 100-200 kW, with an output shaft rather than purely thrust-driven, and possibly even GRM priced. Assuming such a beast is not a white elephant, where could one find it?
I'm assuming an engine that was retired from, say, a small helicopter due to age, would be perfectly usable in a vehicle never intended to leave the ground, and hopefully also dirt-cheap. Right?
I thought of something similiar but not using a turbine. And to think I am an A&P and have extensive turbine experience. I didn't consider turbine because of cost. Instead I thought about a small water cooled engine (diesel or gas) about the size in a small tractor/lawn tractor to power a generator to power electric motors for drive. The plus side of this is simplicity and add-ons. Like the cooling system to feed a heater just like what's currently used in cars. Could also use the engine to power power steering pumps and AC compressors just like currently used on cars. The vacuum system can even be used for power brakes. I thought this through. 
Reusing the accessory components would help keep cost down, maximize effeciency and let us have the creature comforts we are used too. You could measure fuel consumption by amount used per hour instead of miles per gallon. I even talked with some engineers (electrical) I work with. A couple of them sat down, did some quick math and stated a generator big enough to power a car would be to big to fit in a car. 
I somehow don't fully believe them with technology being what it is. I thought a generator powered vehicle would be a decent idea as a stop-gap measure until battery technology improves enough to be of use to the masses.
