American Underslung Scout

Posted on March 28, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1913 American Underslung Model 22-B Scout

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

Photo – Hyman Ltd.

The American Motor Car Company of Indianapolis, Indiana built some of the coolest pre-WWI cars in America. The Underslung model line – which was new for 1909 – featured a, well, low-slung chassis that make the cars look incredible sporty.

The Scout was the two-passenger roadster. Larger cars were also offered. The Model 22 was offered for 1912 and 1913 only and 1914 was the final model year for the American Underslung. It uses a 4.1-liter straight-four making about 25 horsepower.

This car was restored in the 1980s and has been used heavily since. The listing on Hyman Ltd’s website says it better than I can, so read more about it there. In summary, it says that this car has more character than just about anything else you could drive – and they’re right. It’s an amazing old car that can be used and driven. You could have a lot of fun in this car. It is priced right too, for what it is (in the $100,000 range). Check out more cars for sale by them here.

Here’s video of a similar car:

A Beautiful American Underslung

Posted on July 23, 2013 by classiccarweekly

1914 American Underslung Model 644 Four-Passenger Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 16, 2013

American Underslungs are, I think, some of the prettiest pre-WWI American cars built. They are very distinctive with their low-slung chassis (hence the name) and those big, almost over-sized, white tires. Not to mention the gigantic emblem on the grille and the way the front fenders curve at sharp angles and fall dramatically back toward the passengers.

Even though this is a moderately big car, it still seems sporty. Strangely, it only accommodates four passengers, despite being a longish-wheelbase touring car. The low center of gravity (the frame is below the axles) provided for awesome handling, yet the bottom of the car was still high enough to scrape atop ruts ground into early, dirt roads. It might not look sporty, but many regard this as “Sports Car Genesis.”

The American Motor Car Company of Indianapolis built more traditional, upright touring cars when they were founded in 1906 (we featured one of them here). Underslungs came a year later. This particular car is from 1914, the last year the company was in business. It was part of the Harrah Collection for a long time before going to Europe in the 1980s. In about 2005, it was acquired by the current owner. The body was restored under Harrah’s ownership, but the interior is all-original, which is incredible. The engine is a 7.4-liter T-head six-cylinder making 60 horsepower.

These cars are very rare – most are in museums, so getting the chance to buy one almost never happens. It sucks I don’t have the money. Only three four-passenger Underslungs are known to still exist. This one should sell for between $550,000-$700,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Carmel, California.

Update: Sold $748,000.

A Pre-Underslung American

Posted on September 25, 2012 by classiccarweekly

1906 American Tourist Roi des Belges Touring

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

This car, offered from the endless estate of John O’Quinn, was built by the American Motor Car Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. That company is more famously known as “American Underslung” – the name by which their vehicles were badged beginning in 1907, when they introduced their revolutionary (and awesome looking) “underslung” chassis (where the frame is low and between the axles).

But in 1906, their first year for production, the cars were more traditional in design. In fact, the chassis here was designed by non other than Harry C. Stutz – prior to him making it big on his own. The engine is a 35/40 horsepower 5.5-liter L-head straight-four with a three-speed manual transmission sending power through the rear wheels.

The name of the car is simply “American” with “Tourist” being the model designation. I don’t know if I need to explain that, but I’m used to car companies where the word “American” is directly followed by something like “Austin” or “Bantam” or “Underslung” and my mind wants to refer to this as an “American Tourist” – but I guess if that were true it would have to be wearing shorts and gym shoes and shouting loudly in slow, plain English (what a European once told me “gives you away as an American”).

In any case, this car was restored in the 1960s but has been preserved in a museum-quality state ever since. It is expected to sell for between $175,000-$250,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM at Hershey, click here.

Update: Sold $110,000.