(latin) term motor in its present meaning. With one filling of coal, he wrote that the vehicle was able to move more than one hour. As it was only long, and therefore effectively a scale model, not designed to carry human passengers, nor a driver or goods, it is not strictly accurate to call it a 'car'. Despite this, it was the first vehicle that was able to move by 'self-made' engine power. Since the steam engine was still not known at that time, Verbiest used the principle of an impulse turbine. Steam was generated in a ball-shaped boiler, emerging through a pipe at the top, from where it was directed at a simple, open "steam turbine" (rather like a water wheel) that drove the rear wheels. It is not verified by other known sources if Verbiest's model was ever built at the time and no authentic drawing of it exists, although he had access to China's finest metal-working craftsmen who were constructing precision astronomical instruments for him. The Brumm model The Italian model manufacturer Brumm produced a non-working 1:43 scale model of the Veicolo a turbina de Verbiest (1681) [sic], in their "Old Fire" range of 2002. This model was long, which, when scaled-up, would have suggested that Verbiest's original would have been nearly in length. However, comparison with drawings in Hardenberg's study show that this model is not the same as Verbiest's. It is actually modelled on a small steam turbine car built in the late 18th century (presumably 1775) by a German mechanic that was inspired by Verbiests vehicle but different, for example, only with three wheels. Unfortunately, the original was probably destroyed during a bombing raid on the Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe during World War II. However, a photo of the original car can be seen at the Deutsches Museum. Hardenberg notes that this steam turbine car operated on the same principle as Verbiest's carriage (the impulse turbine), but employed a more modern arrangement of the drive train. Major works In Chinese 仪象志 (Yixiang zhi), 1673 (on astronomical instruments and apparatus) 康熙永年历法 (Kangxi yongnian lifa), 1678 (on the calendar of the Kangxi Emperor) 方言教要序论 (Jiaoyao xulun) (explanation of the basics of the faith) Latin Astronomia Europea, 1687 Memorials Verbiest is commemorated on several postage stamps. One, featuring his face, was issued in Belgium, 24 October 1988, to mark the tri-centenary of his death, with a matching pictorial