1903 Stevens Duryea Two-Cylinder

Stevens-Duryea of Massachusetts was one of America's earliest and most successful marques and was founded in Chicopee, Massachusetts, in 1895 by brothers Charles E and J Frank Duryea. With many 'firsts' to their name, they were the United States' first dedicated to the manufacture of gasoline-powered cars, having tested its first such automobile - also America's first - in 1893. J. Frank, accompanied by his brother, drove a Duryea automobile to victory in the 1895 Chicago Times-Herald contest, the first automobile race held in the United States. With production starting that same year, Duryea became America's first commercially produced car.

In 1896, a pair of Duryeas were shipped to the United Kingdom for the first London to Brighton Emancipation Run. One Duryea, driven by J. Frank, was the first to arrive in Brighton, beating the next closest arrival by more than an hour. Their participation in the endurance run marked the first appearance of American motor vehicles in Europe.

Duryea also holds the distinction of being the United State's first recorded car accident, when a Duryea driven by Henry Wells of New York hit a cyclist. The cyclist broke his leg, and Wells spent a night in jail.

When the partnership dissolved several years later, Charles E moved to Reading, Pennsylvania, where production of Duryea motor cars recommenced in 1900. J Frank forged an alliance with the J Stevens Arms & Tool Company of Chicopee Falls, where his new prototype, originally built under the Hampden brand name, commenced production in 1901 as the Stevens-Duryea.

The first Stevens-Duryea runabout used tiller steering, wire wheels, and a twin-cylinder, horizontal engine delivering 5 horsepower. Priced at $1,200, a few were produced in 1901, 61 in 1902, and 483 in 1903. By 1904, the Runabout had received numerous modifications and development and now wore the designation, the Model L. The tubular chassis was now powered by a horizontal twin-mounted engine offering 6 horsepower. It continued to use Tiller steering, but the suspension was now fully elliptic springing. It had wire wheels and a three-speed-plus reverse gearbox. The Model L now listed for $1,250.

Stevens-Duryea added a four-cylinder, 20 hp model for 1950, while a 50hp shaft-driven six arrived in 1906, the final year of runabout production. By this point, Stevens-Duryea was built approximately 100 cars per year, mostly large touring cars and limousines. Their reputation as a maker of expensive high-quality motor cars had been firmly established.

Due to financial problems, Stevens-Duryea production ended in 1915, and their plant was sold to the New England Westinghouse Company. Following World War I, several former Stevens-Duryea employees acquired the name and rights, and restarted production in 1919 of the six-cylinder, 46hp Model D - now designed Model E priced at $9,500. This price was around three times the average wage in the United States, making it one of the most expensive automobiles on the market. Sales, understandably, were slow. After a few years, which involved various changes of ownership and reorganization, the company finally closed its doors in 1927.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2023