1918 Templar Model 4-45

The Templar was built in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1917 to 1924 and was the brainchild of M.F. Bramley, president of the Cleveland Trinidad Paving Company. It was marketed as 'The Super-Fine Small Car', and its name was from the Knights Templar, the religious military order of the 10th century, and adopted the Maltese Cross as its emblem.

The Templar was constructed from components acquired from specialist suppliers and assembled by the erstwhile manufacturer. Although there were plenty of noteworthy engine builders of the era, including Continental, Wisconsin, and Lycoming, the Templar Motors Corporation built its own powerplants and axles, with its transmission sourced from Detroit Gear. The chassis was from Savage, and the bodies were from the Cleveland-based Ohio Blower Company.

The Templar team consisted of individuals who had previously worked at Pope Hartford, Stearns, Matheson, and most notably, Mercer. The engines built by Templar had a striking resemblance to the L-head Mercer but with overhead valves. Aluminum was used extensively throughout the engine, and novel features included the water pump off the nose of the engine and the perpendicular drive of the magneto. The aluminum components, including the crankcase, were polished.

The Templar styling was en vogue with many vehicles of the era, with its roadster bearing a similar appearance to the Stutz Bearcat and a sport tourer similar to the Mercer Sporting. The sporty persona was one that Templar gravitated towards, but it went beyond just appearance, as Templar backed it up with mechanical sophistication. In 1919 the famous 'Cannonball' Baker drove a Templar from New York to Chicago in just 26 hours and 50 minutes, beating the old record by six hours.

The Templar vehicles demanded enormous sums for such a small car, often eclipsing $3,000 when similarly sized cars were available for well under $1,000. Despite the steep price, the company initially prospered, but then a fire burned the entire Templar factory to the ground in December of 1920. The company rebuilt, but things were never the same, and the company never truly recovered. Templar eventually passed into the history books in 1924. Approximately 6,000 cars were built during their lifespan.

The 1918 Templar
The Templar Model 4-45 rested on a 118-inch wheelbase and was powered by a 197 cubic-inch four-cylinder engine with overhead valves and offered 50 horsepower. Although it had the appearance of a small car, its weight was over 2,700 pounds, making it nearly twice as heavy as the Ford Model T and costing nearly six times as much. Body styles included a Victoia Elite, Touring, Sedan, Sportette, and two-passenger Touring Roadster.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2022