American Riviera, 1940 Riviera | Conceptcarz.com - Pictures, Pricing, Information, Wallpaper, History

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Chassis Num: 66367

The American Bantam:

American Bantam rose from the bankruptcy of American Austin Car Company. The Austins were built in Butler, Penn., from 1930 to 1934, but these minicars never developed enough sales to survive the competition of established automakers whose cars were priced near or below the Austin's base price of $445.

American Bantam began in 1937 and built cars from 1938 to early 1941 with updated styling by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky. An improved engine better suited for U.S. driving conditions (genius race-car designer Harry A. Miller did some of the work on the engine's manifold system) resulted in a more competitive automobile emerging from Butler, with an array of body styles priced from $399 to $565. But with WWII threatening, most of Bantam's thin resources were poured into developing the prototype Jeep in hopes of winning the U.S. Army contract. This effort was in vain, however, as Willys, and later Ford, went on to build all of the Jeeps while Bantam closed its doors forever in 1941.

The 1940 American Bantam
No essential differences exist between the three model years of Bantams. Total production for these three years were approximately 6,700 cars, and for 1940, they were available in Standard and Master coupe, roadster, convertible coupe, convertible sedan and station wagon.

This Car
While 22 horsepower may not seem like a lot, it should be remembered that the weight of this car is about 1,300 lbs., so the power-to-weight ratio is actually quite favorable for sprightly performance through the gears.

Chassis No. 66367

Source - Gooding & Company

1940 American Riviera
Year	1940
Make	American
Model	Riviera
Body Style	Phaeton
Engine Location	Front
Drive Type	Rear Wheel
Weight	1261 lbs \| 572 kg
Combined MPG	0.00

Chassis / Engine Numbers Shown
Chassis Number	66367

Engine
Engine Configuration	I
Cylinders	4
Aspiration/Induction	Normal
Displacement	50.10 CU IN. \| 821.1 cc. \| 0.8 L.
Horsepower	22.00 BHP (16.2 KW) @ 3800.00 RPM
HP to Weight Ratio	57.3 LB / HP (Vehicles with similar ratio)
HP / Liter	27.5 BHP / Liter
Fuel Type	Gasoline - Petrol
	Vehicles with similar horsepower and weight

Standard Transmission
Gears	3
Transmission	Manual

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1940 American Riviera