The Brass Era Rex

cyclecar A cyclecar was a microcar, type of small, lightweight and inexpensive Automobile, car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle ...

was manufactured by the Rex Motor Company in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

in 1914.

History

C. H. Blomstrom had been involved with the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, Blomstrom, Gyroscope, Car De Luxe and the

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

when he turned to developing a cyclecar. Unusual for cyclecars, the Rex had

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longi ...

. The friction transmission had its discs at the front of the engine instead of the rear. The water-cooled four-cylinder 18-hp engine of the Rex was designed by Blomstrom. The car was on a 100-inch

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

, with a 48-inch tread. A side-by-side two-seater, the Rex weighed 580 pounds and was priced at $395, . Very few were made.

References

{{Reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Detroit Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1914 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1915 Cyclecars Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars Cars introduced in 1914