The 1936 Stout Scarab came about in the early 1930s when William B. Stout , psyche of the Stout Engineering Laboratories in Dearborn , Michigan , dream of rear - locomotive / behind - wheel drive . " When we finally ' unhitch Old Dobbin ' from the automobile , " he write inScientific American , " the driver will have endlessly better vision from all angles . The car will be clear and more effective and yet safer , the drive will be gentle , and the body will be more roomy without sacrificing maneuverability . "
Classic Cars Image Gallery
As an aircraft innovator – a Lord of the famed Ford Tri - Motor – Stout also had a yen for aeromechanics . His Scarab , with its flush crank and electric doorway locks , bore scant resemblance to any car on Depression - geological era roads . Even Chrysler ’s futurist Airflow looked rather tame next to the Scarab ’s teardrop visibility , correspond for uniqueness only by the likes of Buckminster Fuller ’s bullet train - like Dymaxion .
Although the Scarab look long – like an quondam Greyhound jalopy with postwar " bathtub " Nash partial – the attribute were n’t terribly startling . The 135 - inch wheelbase was on the long side , but the overall duration of just over 16 animal foot - about the same as a 1936 Pontiac - allowed only minimum overhang at each end . And the prat - mounted locomotive engine could n’t be more unglamourous : an 85 - bhp flathead Ford V-8 hooked to Ford ’s three - focal ratio gearbox . On a 6000 - mile head trip , Stout ’s car got a creditable 18.8 mpg .
Scarab interior were as unique as their bodies . Only the driver ’s tail was fixed . All the others could be make a motion around the self-aggrandizing , flat floor - even position around a fold - down table if hope .
Ronald Schneider of Milwaukee , Wisconsin possess two of the guess nine Scarabs built . Both were basket cases , of " junkyard caliber " when he institute them . Scarabs , Schneider says , were driven regularly by early proprietor . The one seen here has traveled 150,000 - plus miles .
After purchase his first Scarab in the early eighties , Schneider spent several years researching the many lack part before buying another . The 2nd scarabaeus needed less fabrication work , but Schneider still needed a in use two years to fill out its ground - up restoration . " Whatever was n’t miss was wear out out , " Schneider explains . " Just about anything that could be untimely , was . " When finished , he enter the Scarab in the 1989 crisscross - country Great American Race , and again in 1990 .
A Stout ad inFortuneannounced that 1936 production would be " limited to 100 cars , " with prices starting at $ 5000 . scarab actually cost a destiny more to establish , however , and nearly all of them went to Stout board members , admit such notability as Phillip Wrigley and Harvey Firestone .
The Scarab " creates a hoo-ha wherever it last , " articulate Schneider , adding that with all - wheel independent suspension it rides restfully , " exceptionally still and static . " Considerably better , in fact , than his 1936 Fords , with much abstemious steering . The only serious flaw is limited reverse visibility .
onwards of its time ? utterly . Not everyone decrease for the irregular shape , but they all take notice if a Scarab glide into view . Just a glance at that elegantly fan rear grillework confirm that the Scarab was – and is – something particular .
For more information on motorcar , see :
