A 'proof of concept' study of a novel wind turbine that overcomes some of the deficiencies and combines the advantages of the conventional horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines is presented in this paper. The study conducted using computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel tests clearly demonstrate that such a proposition is feasible and a low cost, low noise, safe and easy to operate but enhanced performance wind turbine for small scale power generation in low wind speed is viable. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.