No, it wasn't a Hiclone although I am very sceptical about those too.
I suspect the windmill thing "worked" by changing the engine noise. I maintain that if you have two identical vehicles with the same power/torque output at the same rpm, but one has a growling exhaust and the other a normal one, most people will believe the noisier car to be more powerful (and will convince themselves of this). The mind is a powerful thing...