Concorde plane engine up for sale on eBay for £650,000 but it's for display only

21 January 2024 , 08:54

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The Rolls Royce Olympus Turbojet 593-610 is six metres long and weighs three-and-a-half tonnes. (Image: Jam Press/eBay)

An iconic British Airways Concorde engine is for sale for £654,000 on the online auction site eBay.

The Rolls Royce Olympus Turbojet 593-610 is six metres long and weighs three-and-a-half tonnes, so it might be tad difficult to put in the post. It was once used on one of the BA supersonic jets, and has the reg G-BFKW after it was built in 1980.

The engine comes with its own afterburner, plus the original logbook which belonged to the famous aircraft. But the downside is that it cannot be used on an aeroplane and is for display only.

The Rolls Royce Olympus Turbojet 593-610 from a BA Concorde (Jam Press/eBay)

The engine had been on the auction website for £678,000, but the seller has since cut the price. No bids have been made yet, but it has attracted the interest of four potential buyers who are interested in acquiring a piece of aircraft history. The listing on the auction site reads: “Not able to fly but perfect to dismantle and repurpose into collectable pieces of furniture of art. British Airways restriction of use, it must only be used for static display.”

The listing for the iconic engine on online auction site eBay (Jam Press/eBay)

But the detail on the site reveals the aircraft engine has been changed, and the aeroplane is now in a museum in the US: “This engine was fitted on wing No.3 position on Concorde reg G-BFKW number 214. Later changed to G-BOAG now positioned in the Museum of Flight Seattle, US."

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It states: "Concorde G-BFKW no. 214 delivery flight was from BAe Filton to LHR on 06/Feb/1980 and flown by Captain B. O. Walpole. And on the same day for acceptance flight (flight 9) was flown by Captain E. B. Trubshaw. Also the original Delivery Log book detailing all sub-assemblies, with original signatures and stamps by the engineers.”

The engine has attracted some interest but the price has been reduced (Jam Press/eBay)

The iconic Concorde was retired from service in 2003. It followed the fatal crash of an Air France Flight shortly after take-off with all 109 passengers - and four on the ground - killed in July 2000. The Mirror revealed last year how a next-generation airline dubbed the 'Son of Concorde' is to be unveiled, which will offer three-and-a-half-hour carbon-neutral flights from London to New York. Boom Supersonic's Overture is billed as being able to reach speeds of Mach 1.7 (1,300mph). The prototype, called XB-1 Baby Boom, has reportedly hit key milestones during testing and the company behind it has said, if all goes well, it will be unveiled in 2026.

The first commercial passenger flights, however, may not be until 2029. XB-1's test flights will happen in Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California, miles from the company's hangar in Centennial, Colorado.

Graeme Murray