1917 Locomobile 48 Sportif Victoria
Locomobile of Bridgeport, Connecticut began in 1899 when magazine publisher John Brisben Walker and Amzi Lorenzo Barber, the 'Asphalt King,' took over the steam car business of F.E. and F.O. Stanley. Their $600 steam car was named 'Locomobile' and quickly grew in popularity, with approximately 2,200 cars built in 1901. By 1903, its popularity faded as sales were overtaken by the curved-dash Oldsmobile.
Locomobile hired engineer Andrew L. Riker to design a gasoline-powered, four-cylinder, front-engine model wearing lightweight stamped aluminum bodywork. In this guise, fully equipped, it sold for $4,000. It was briefly joined by a twin-cylinder model, but by 1905, it was the sole model and offered in four sizes.
Locomobile's steam car had been a very popular 'volume' seller, but their gasoline took on a different persona and catered to the influential and affluent members of society. In 1905, the most expensive Locomobile sold for $7,500 making it one of the most expensive vehicles available.
The Locomobile 48-hp Type M was introduced in 1911 and would become the company's most significant and long-lived model. Power was sourced from an iron T-head six-cylinder unit with a 429 cubic-inch displacement size and a single Ball and Ball Updraft carburetor. The cylinders were cast in pairs and bolted to a bronze crankcase, which contained a drop-forged alloy steel crankshaft that was both statically and dynamically balanced and rode in seven main bearings. The '48' grew to 525 cubic inches and 142-inches, and by 1914, the four-cylinder cars had been dropped and a smaller six became the 'entry-level' Locomobile. While all of Locomobile's competitors used a three-speed gearbox, the Model 48 utilized a four-speed transmission. Stopping power was provided by mechanical drum brakes on the rear wheels. The quality and craftsmanship could be seen throughout the vehicle, and no shortcuts or inferior components were used in its construction. The chassis members were pressed from chrome-nickel steel, then heat-treated and hot-riveted together, and suspended by chrome-nickel-tungsten steel leaf springs. The front used a solid axle and the back had a live axle. Semi-elliptical leaf springs were in the front while the rear used three-quarter elliptical leaf springs.
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