The Westcott was an automobile produced in Richmond, Indiana and Springfield, Ohio in the United States between 1909 and 1925 by the Westcott Motor Car Company. The car company was named for its founder, John Westcott.

Westcott Motor Car Company

The company originated from John Westcott's Westcott Carriage Company which was founded in Richmond, Indiana in 1896. It was reorganized as the Westcott Motor Car Company in 1909. John Westcott sold his interest to Burton J. Westcott in 1916 and production moved to Springfield.Epilogue, Orpha Westcott's Story, Barbara Studebaker Arnold, Dog Ear Publishing, 2011, page 118 , 9781608449507 In 1917 output reached 2,000 cars with it peaking in 1920.The Westcott Motor Car
retrieved 10 December 2015 The last known advertisement for Westcott cars was April 5, 1925 and the same day a newspaper reported that the company had been sold the previous day to J. B. Cartmell, Arthur Hill, and George Cugley for $81,000. Production had stopped as the company was unable to pay debts of $825,000 owed to suppliers of parts used in the cars. Burton Westcott had been unable to save the company and died a year later in January 1926. Westcotts were hand built and the company had not adapted to the cost saving production line techniques being used by other manufacturers. Burton Westcott was known as a client of

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Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

, who designed a Prairie School style house for the Westcott Family in Springfield, Ohio in 1904. Restoration of the Westcott House began in 2004.

Westcott motor cars

The Westcott was advertised as "the car with the longer life". Westcotts were powered by

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engines, and rode at least two wheelbases, and . In 1923, the company released a model named the Closure, which was a

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

with hard panels that could be removed from the sides of the car during the summer months. According to the company, the average lifespan of a Westcott car was 10 years, which was three and a half years higher than the national average.

Models

*1909 14 hp water-cooled engine buggy that rode on 38 inch solid rubber tires *1913 coupe *1914 Model 4-48 four-cylinder engine 48 hp five-passenger touring car, four-passenger touring car, two-passenger roadster all costing $1,985 *1914 Model 6-50 six-cylinder engine 67 hp seven-passenger touring car $2,535, five-passenger touring car $2,485, two-passenger roadster $2,485 *1916 Model 42 *1917 Popular *1917 roadster four-seat *1919 A-48 *1920 Lighter six - 118 inch wheelbase - two-seat roadster, three-seat coupe, five-passenger touring car, and a five-passenger sedan *1920 Larger six - 125 inch wheelbase a five- or seven-seat touring car, and a seven-seat limousine *1923 five-passenger standard touring, sport touring, and sedan priced from $1,690 to $2,690 *1923 seven-passenger standard touring, sedan, and limousine priced from $1,890 to $3,090

Motor racing

Westcotts competed in the

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of 1910 from

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Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

via

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and the first

Indy 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianap ...

of 1911. The Westcott, driven by Harry Knight was running in third place in the Indy race when on lap 90 it crashed while avoiding a mechanic who had fallen from Joe Jagersberger's car. Knight's mechanic was injured in the crash.

References

External links

7-passenger Westcott Auto1914 Westcott SpecificationsFrank Lloyd Wright's Westcott House1921 Model C-38 touring model specifications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westcott Automobile 1900s cars 1910s cars 1920s cars Richmond, Indiana