1940 American Bantam Riviera

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