1911 Ford Model T Torpedo Runabout

The Ford Model T car was designed by Childe Harold Wills and two Hungarian immigrants, Joseph A. Galamb and Eugene Farkas. While Henry Ford said that you could have a Model T 'in any color, so long as it's black,' early versions were available in green, red, blue and grey. Production of Model T spanned 1908 to 1927 and it has been named the most influential automobile of the 20th century. It has a 177 cubic-inch front-mounted four-cylinder engine block developing 20 horsepower, enabling it to achieve a top speed of 40 to 45 mph. Hand cranking was a challenge: owners had to retard the spark manually or risk a 'kick back.' The crank handle was cupped in the palm so that if the engine did kick back, the rapid reverse motion of the crank would throw the hand away from the handle, rather than violently twisting the wrist or breaking the thumb.

The first of the new '1911' Fords to be released to the public was the new Torpedo Runabout body style introduced on October 5, 1910. The new Torpedo Runabout had a steel paneled body and curved fenders front and rear. Both of these features were unheard of in previous Model T production. The hood was lengthened, and the steering column, longer to compensate for the lengthened hood, was placed at a lower angle to give a more 'racy' appearance. A sporty Model T Ford was being built.

This example resided in Collection 21 in Northern Kentucky.