1915 Stearns-Knight Light Four

Mr. Frank B. Stearns was a very early auto pioneer who built his first car in 1896. The Stearns was the most powerful and fastest American stock car of its era. Ralph Stein, the famed motor car writer said it flatly, '...the most potent car of its time.'

The 1912 models were the first to use the revolutionary 'Knight' engine which eliminated the problematic valve and valve spring of the day. The Knights used two ported iron sleeves surrounding each piston, gently sliding up and down, activated by their own miniature crankshafts.

The Stearns cars could only be afforded by the wealthiest people.

The L-4, or Light Four, was the smallest, least expensive vehicle offered in 1915. It has a 246 cubic-inch sleeve-valve engine, producing fifty horsepower.

Out of the 702 produced, this example is the only known survivor.