#568 - 1949 Crosley Hot Shot Roadster *NO RESERVE*
From the LeMay - America’s Car Museum collection.
American inventor and industrialist Powel Crosley, Jr. (b. September 18, 1886, d. March 28, 1961) having had two unsuccessful attempts to break into the automotive industry, finally found his success in producing and selling appliances. During the Great Depression, Crosley managed to build up a small fortune, allowing him to purchase and keep the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball in Ohio after the team went bankrupt in 1931. The Reds’ stadium, Redland Field, was renamed Crosley Field in 1934 to honor the man who saved baseball in Cincinnati.
With his new fortune, Crosley attempted to enter the automotive industry again in 1939, this time with a $300 car sporting a 12 hp engine that could reach a speed of 50 mph. Crosley continued to enjoy success during WWII with his COBRA (short for COpper BLAzed) engine block, nicknamed “The Mighty Tin.” He was awarded a huge military contract to manufacture his engines for the war effort. The US Navy used COBRA engines as air-droppable portable generators for field use. After the war, Crosley continued to produce cars from 1946 until he went out of business in 1952.
The Crosley Hot Shot sports car was introduced in July, 1949 with a price tag of $849. It had a hatch at the center of the hood to provide access to the cast iron CIBA four-cylinder engine.
The Hot Shot could be easily modified as a racer and was capable of 60-70 bhp at 10,000 rpm. Some Hot Shots were able to break 100 mph. The was “America’s First Sports Car,” by some enthusiasts since most iconic American sports cars started appearing on the market in the 1950s. According to the scientific journal Popular Science, in its September 1949 issue, Crosley’s Hot Shot was “designed to lead a double-life. Strip off the windshield, headlamps, bumpers, top, and spare wheel – and you’ve got a racer.” In 1949 he introduced the first disc brakes on an American automobile on all models from Pickup to his Hotshot sports car model. This 1949 Hot Shot is one of 752 produced by Crosley from 1949 to 1952.
From the LeMay - America’s Car Museum collection.
American inventor and industrialist Powel Crosley, Jr. (b. September 18, 1886, d. March 28, 1961) having had two unsuccessful attempts to break into the automotive industry, finally found his success in producing and selling appliances. During the Great Depression, Crosley managed to build up a small fortune, allowing him to purchase and keep the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball in Ohio after the team went bankrupt in 1931. The Reds’ stadium, Redland Field, was renamed Crosley Field in 1934 to honor the man who saved baseball in Cincinnati.
With his new fortune, Crosley attempted to enter the automotive industry again in 1939, this time with a $300 car sporting a 12 hp engine that could reach a speed of 50 mph. Crosley continued to enjoy success during WWII with his COBRA (short for COpper BLAzed) engine block, nicknamed “The Mighty Tin.” He was awarded a huge military contract to manufacture his engines for the war effort. The US Navy used COBRA engines as air-droppable portable generators for field use. After the war, Crosley continued to produce cars from 1946 until he went out of business in 1952.
The Crosley Hot Shot sports car was introduced in July, 1949 with a price tag of $849. It had a hatch at the center of the hood to provide access to the cast iron CIBA four-cylinder engine.
The Hot Shot could be easily modified as a racer and was capable of 60-70 bhp at 10,000 rpm. Some Hot Shots were able to break 100 mph. The was “America’s First Sports Car,” by some enthusiasts since most iconic American sports cars started appearing on the market in the 1950s. According to the scientific journal Popular Science, in its September 1949 issue, Crosley’s Hot Shot was “designed to lead a double-life. Strip off the windshield, headlamps, bumpers, top, and spare wheel – and you’ve got a racer.” In 1949 he introduced the first disc brakes on an American automobile on all models from Pickup to his Hotshot sports car model. This 1949 Hot Shot is one of 752 produced by Crosley from 1949 to 1952.
From the LeMay - America’s Car Museum collection.
American inventor and industrialist Powel Crosley, Jr. (b. September 18, 1886, d. March 28, 1961) having had two unsuccessful attempts to break into the automotive industry, finally found his success in producing and selling appliances. During the Great Depression, Crosley managed to build up a small fortune, allowing him to purchase and keep the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball in Ohio after the team went bankrupt in 1931. The Reds’ stadium, Redland Field, was renamed Crosley Field in 1934 to honor the man who saved baseball in Cincinnati.
With his new fortune, Crosley attempted to enter the automotive industry again in 1939, this time with a $300 car sporting a 12 hp engine that could reach a speed of 50 mph. Crosley continued to enjoy success during WWII with his COBRA (short for COpper BLAzed) engine block, nicknamed “The Mighty Tin.” He was awarded a huge military contract to manufacture his engines for the war effort. The US Navy used COBRA engines as air-droppable portable generators for field use. After the war, Crosley continued to produce cars from 1946 until he went out of business in 1952.
The Crosley Hot Shot sports car was introduced in July, 1949 with a price tag of $849. It had a hatch at the center of the hood to provide access to the cast iron CIBA four-cylinder engine.
The Hot Shot could be easily modified as a racer and was capable of 60-70 bhp at 10,000 rpm. Some Hot Shots were able to break 100 mph. The was “America’s First Sports Car,” by some enthusiasts since most iconic American sports cars started appearing on the market in the 1950s. According to the scientific journal Popular Science, in its September 1949 issue, Crosley’s Hot Shot was “designed to lead a double-life. Strip off the windshield, headlamps, bumpers, top, and spare wheel – and you’ve got a racer.” In 1949 he introduced the first disc brakes on an American automobile on all models from Pickup to his Hotshot sports car model. This 1949 Hot Shot is one of 752 produced by Crosley from 1949 to 1952.