The turbine has a lot going for it, in particular its power to size/weight ratio.
The military uses turbine engines on the M1A1 Abrams tank, so we know it is rugged/reliable.
Chrysler had turbine engines in cars in the late 60s or early 70s, testing them. They had the problems of hot exhaust and noise solved, but they still had power lag (a delay from when you hit the gas, until the car accelerated) and were terrible on fuel mileage idling around. Using a turbine to power a generator would solve this, as the engine would run only when the batteries needed a charge, and when running, could be put on a more or less constant load/RPM, where they are most efficient. I don't know of anything that produces as much HP out of as small a package as a turbine, nor for the weight involved, either.
As to the combine with a CVT, I put a bunch of hours on an IH 715, with the belt drive to the wheels, and it would kill the engine before it would slip. If I understand the Fendt system, it involves a CVT, with a powershift transmission, to provide pretty much infinite speed control. Is that right?
