Aero Car ceremony

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The Whirlpool Aero Car looks a lot different than it did on August 8th 1916. It’s been exactly 100 years since the aerial cable car designed by Spanish civil engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo was first installed. Today 27 members of his family travelled from Spain to the popular tourist spot to take part in celebrations.

Quevedo’s great-grandson, Carlos Torres Quevedo was one of the many relatives there for a plaque unveiling. “I grew up always talking about civil engineering, I like it a lot.”

So much so that Carlos followed in his great grandfather’s foot steps becoming a civil engineer himself.
“To think that my great-grandfather was the one that thought about it , who designed it and was the one who came to construct it 100 years ago. For us it is something, there are no words.”

The Aero Car is suspended over 6 steel cables. An electric motor powers the cable car, which moves at about 8 kilometres an hour. The ride which stretches almost the entre width of the gorge lasts about 10 minutes. The attraction has been modified over the years and undergoes regular maintenance checks every 5 years. The Aero Car cost $120 000 to build, which the parks commission says works out to about $3 million today.