1925 Ford Frontenac Special

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1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927

The Frontenac Motor Corporation was founded in Detroit in December 1915 by Louis Chevrolet, Joseph Boyer Jr., William Small, and Victor Heftler.
- Mr. Chevrolet co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911, along with his brother Arthur Chevrolet, William C. Durant, and investment partners Dr. Edwin R. Campbell and William Little, and friend Samuel McLaughlin (he was also Durant's son-in-law).
- Joseph Boyer Jr. was a talented racing driver and the winner of the 1924 Indianapolis 500. That same year, he would lose his life following an accident at Altoona Speedway in Tyrone, Pennsylvania.
- William Small was a car dealer based in Indianapolis, and Victor Heftler was the president of Zenith Carburetor.

The Frontenac Motor Corporation specialized in building racing cars for major AAA competitions, including the Indianapolis 500. Mechanic and engineer Cornelius van Ranst was hired to design and build a four-cylinder Monroe Frontenac, which was used to carry Louis' brother Gaston to victory at the Indianapolis 500 in 1920 (Gaston was killed six months later, driving a Frontenac on the Beverly Hill Board Speedway). van Ranst designed a high-performance pushrod head for the side-valve Model T Ford before he designed a straight-eight engine that was used to capture another victory for Frontenac in 1921. This time, the winning car was driven by Tommy Milton, who would compete at Indy on eight occasions and finished in the top five on four occasions. He placed third in 1920, won in 1921, DNF'ed in 1922, and won again in 1923, this time driving a Miller 122.

Looking to capitalize on the racing success, Frontenac entered a deal with Stutz Motor Company to build passenger cars. Development of a passenger car prototype began, but before it was completed, one of the individuals associated with Stutz became embroiled in a Wall Street scandal. Cashflow ceased and Louis was left with the responsibility of finding development and coming up with funding. Unable to carry this burden, Frontenac Motors filed bankruptcy protection in 1923.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2009