1952 Gregory Sports Roadster

Ben F. Gregory was an early pioneer in front-wheel drive. He built his first front-wheel drive race car in 1920-1 utilizing the Voisin chassis and contemporary aircraft engines. He also experimented with four-wheel drive cars in the early 1920s before turning to aviation projects.

After WWII, he turned his attention again to front-wheel drive automobiles, although this time for production. He developed a rear-engine, front-wheel drive coupe in 1947 which never made it to production. The car currently resides in the Lane Motor Museum. He also designed the light military vehicle dubbed the Mighty Mite, which was built by American Motors and used by the U.S. military during the Korean War.

This car was Gregory's last attempt at building a front-wheel drive production vehicle. Adopting the sports car craze of the early 1950s, he defied convention by mounting a Porsche engine and transmission at the very front of his custom-designed chassis. Though it never made production, he used this car for his personal transportation until his death in 1974, accumulating over 300,000 miles.