When the A.O Smith company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin decided to get into the car business by building a very cheap form of transportation we’re not sure they were aiming to build the cheapest car in the history of the world but that is exactly what they did. By the time that the last of these babies rolled off the line (then being produced by the Briggs and Stratton company) the sticker price was between $125 and $150 bucks. Going on the fact that we’re all cheapskates here and that we’d have needled the seller down to that $125 price, that equates to $1,683.88. You’d be driving off the lot on a vehicle that did not have a body, did not have suspension, had a top speed of around 30mph, had very little in the way of braking, and gave you zero hope of survival in the event of a crash. Oh, it also lacked a clutch or a throttle. But the reality is that you’d have to spend a whopping $4,297 in today’s cash ($380) back then for a 1922 Model T runabout which, well, which looked like the space shuttle as compared to this insane death trap.
Suspension was achieved by the flexing of the wooden frame that the occupants were wedged onto. You’ll see in the photos below that the confines were cozy, even when it was a pair of skinny kids occupying the seats. There are about a dozen known to exist in the world today according to several different sources that we read. After 1925 Briggs and Stratton sold the rights to the flyer off to another manufacturer who eventually sold them with an electric motor powering the wheel. We have no idea how that went but we’re guessing not so good.
If the Briggs and Stratton/Smith Flyer had any lasting effect it was what it did for the Briggs and Stratton company. They took that 2hp engine which was refined for this application and expounded on it with a multitude of different models and as we all know the company is still one of the lading small engine brands in the world today. We’re not giving this little weirdo car credit for that growth but it did show them the scope and size of the small engine market that was available to be seized and seize they did.
This one is in immaculate shape and has an asking price of over $5,500 bucks. If you are a hardcore collector of early automotive stuff, this would be a fun piece to have in your collection for sure. As dumb as it sounds, we’d love to take a spin on one!
Check out the photos below and then hit the eBay link –
A.O. Smiths were called Auto Red Bugs.
Well damn. The bidding is closed or I’d put a bid in on it.
Pretty sure there’s one of these in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. If memory serves, it’s almost right next to the Ohio George Malco gasser.
I’ve seen one in the Crawford Long museum in Cleveland.
Yes, it does look like it would be fun to take for a drive… I’d probably have on my full motorcycle gear if I was sharing the road with any other vehicles, though!