1907 Victor Runabout Runabout

The dawn of the automobile age was a quickly evolving arena filled with many auto manufacturers utilizing steam, internal combustion, and electricity to propel their creations. The internal combustion engine was in its infancy, while steam and electricity were well understood and fairly well developed.

The Victor Company is one of those early automakers whose history is known to only a few. In fact, there were several Victor Company's in various locales across the country. It is believed that this particular Victor automobile was built by the Overman Automobile Car Company, which had its business offices in New York City and its factory in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

This horseless carriage is powered by an air-cooled engine and equipped with rack-and-pinion steering. Its earliest known owner was Charles Lauter, of Brooklyn, New York who had it registered in New York State in 1915. Later that year, it was purchased by A.E. Brauer, of Orange, New Jersey. In 1966, it was purchased by Robert Havell, of Morris Plains, from whom Mr. Richard Roy acquired it later that year. Mr. Roy had the Victor fully restored and then displayed it at Hershey in 1967. It is believed that this was the car's only public showing.

The car has a black leather interior, a wicker trunk, and a painted 'G.W. Lincoln Gtn. Pa.,' and has most of its original trim, proper wooden artillery wheels, and solid rubber tires. The air-cooled opposed twin-cylinder engine offers 15.3 horsepower and there is a two-speed manual transmission.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2015