1902 Knox Model R

Harry Knox was a graduate of the Springfield Technical Institute. After graduating, he worked for the Overman Wheel Company in Chicopee Falls, building three prototype cars. His friend and automotive pioneer, J. Frank Duryea in Springfield, Massachusetts, encouraged him to create a company and produce automobiles. The result was the Knox Automobile Company, with the first vehicle design being a three-wheel runabout, of which 53 were built in 1900.

By 1902, Knox was producing four-wheel cars, all powered by the Knox hallmark 'porcupine' engine having an air-cooled design. It used spike-like pins on the cylinder instead of cooling fins. The engine was positioned low in the chassis and fitted with a transverse crankshaft and cylinders extending fore and aft. The early models had a sloping front dashboard. Several years later, they were given dummy hoods that had become fashionable in the industry.

In 1904, Harry Knox left the company to build the Atlas car across town. Even after the founder left, the Knox Company expanded to build five models, with one to four cylinders, by 1906.

In 1908, a water-cooled model was added to the lineup.

The F-4 model sold for $1400 in 1906. Two years later a Model G limousine sold for $5,000.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2011