Apropos of nothing, I give you the Stout Scarab. Designed, produced and sold in the 1930s right here in the USA, the Scarab — like the Tucker Torpedo — is one of those cars that you wish just would have made it. Deadly crashes and reality be damned. William Stout envisioned a “traveling machine.” As much a board room as a family hauler. The Stout’s massive wheelbase (135 inches!) and rear mounted engine meant no drive-shaft eating up precious passenger space. And well before Chrysler stuffed a poker table in its minivan, the Scarab rocked a folding card table that could be positioned where it was needed on a wall-mounted track system. Only the driver’s seat was fixed in place — passengers were free to slide about the cabin. The interiors were quite the lux cocoon, complete with leather, wood, wicker and lots of shiny chrome. And while rearward visibility was ungood (no mirrors or rear window) the Stout Scarab did sport independent coil springs at all four corners and a Ford V8. Back in the day everyone considered the Scarab ugly and it flopped. So think it through the next time you mindlessly blurt out, “Greatest Generation.” Still, I really like this car. Jump for a pick of a beefed up Scarab in the snow
Drum brakes, wire wheels and you can see the throttle and transmission cables hanging off the bottom. In reality, I’m not 100% sure this is even a Scarab. Or at least a production Scarab. This very well could be the world’s first fiberglass car, the Scarab prototype.
Posted By: Jonny Lieberman
