1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab1935 Stout Scarab1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab 1935 Stout Scarab
Wednesday, August 23,2006 <H3 class="post-title entry-title">Futuristic Style: 1935 Stout Scarab (Part III) </H3> For the last part of this series, I want to examine a car that didn't just break the styling mold, it shattered the very concept of an automobile. The 1935 Stout Scarab was the brainchild of William B. Stout, an aircraft and automobile engineer and writer. Stout, who had risen to fame as the chief engineer and designer of the Ford Tri Motor airplane, decided to go into the automobile business after a tiff with Ford's aviation department in 1932. His company, Stout Engineering Laboratories of Detroit, MI, was charged with the task of designing a building a van-like vehicle very much like the three-wheeled Dymaxion car created by noted inventor Buckminster Fuller. The first prototype was completed in 1932, featuring a body styled by John Tjaarda (who you might remember from the Lincoln Continental), a rear mounted Ford V8, four-wheels (unlike the Dymaxion), and a steel space frame wrapped with an aluminum body, similar to how aircraft were (and still are) designed. Later models were wrapped in steel body work. The rear mounted engine afforded the vehicle a completely flat floor and made for a very roomy interior. Clothed in leather, chrome, painted steel, and wicker, the spacious interior could seat 6-8 people, depending on the configuration and even had room for a card table. Fancy engineering features also included independent suspension at all four corners and springs wrapped around gas filled struts similar to the struts that would later be proliferated by Earle MacPherson. All this fancy technology came at a cost, however. The Stout Scarab retailed for $5000, a princely sum in 1935, and subsequently only 9 were built. Each one was slightly different. Today, about 5 survive. The Stout's history is certainly fascinating, as is William Stout's own history. Despite the failure of his Scarab, Stout tried his hand at a few other futuristic inventions, but few seemed to get very far off the ground. Stout died in 1956, .
Fugly, but I kinda like it. Pritty dam roomy inside....I'd call it the first mii van?.. we use the exact same seat set up in our mini.
Closest modern cousin would be the (not so) minivan - Dodge Grand Caravan, et al. Although, seeing as it has a rear engine. the VW Microbus is also in that scheme.....
Kool! Call it what you want. I call it cool! I've seen pictures of these for years. But not this many or this clear. Thanks. Just shows nothing is new. America just wasn't ready for so many changes, such as the Chrysler Airflow, the Tucker. even the Edsel. There were several other aircraft designers who tried their hand at making buses, cars, motorhomes, and trucks. If mass produced perhaps they may have survived.
Posted on July 19, 2011 by David Greenlees This press photo is from April of 1946, when William B. Stout was introducing his new creation to the Detroit area press. Stout was a man who thought outside the box and had already designed and built the famous Stout Scarab. The first nine prewar cars he built were steel framed, which was skinned with aluminum and magnesium, the tenth car was done in fiberglass. After the war he introduced this postwar model which was all fiber-glass except the doors. It was equipped with a rear engine as the earlier models were, but only this one unit was built. Little is known of it this car and we are unsure if it has survived. The Old Motor photo. Below are two videos to enjoy, the first is an interview and ride with Ron Schneider who owns and has restored one of the surviving prewar cars. The second is rare black and white footage of a Stout in a very short surreal profession film out on the road. Posted in Automobile photos 1946 - 1965 | Tagged Stout Scrab, William B. Stout | 4 Comments
