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Armstrong Phaeton from 1896 - the world's first hybrid passenger car?

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Created on February 25, 2016

Reading time 3min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bonhams

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Erik Fuller - Courtesy RM Auctions

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Bonhams

13

Erik Fuller - Courtesy RM Auctions

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - mancher Autohersteller hatte auch 30 Jahre später noch nicht so fortschrittliche Technik zu bieten

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - mit zentralem Frontscheinwerfer

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - 25 Jahre technischer Vorsprung

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - die Räder wurden kürzlich verstärkt, um mit dem Drehmoment besser fertig zu werden

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - mit elektrischer Beleuchtung

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - offenes Getriebe mit drei Gängen und Rückwärtsgang

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - mit Lenkrad, eine Pionierleistung

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - optisch einer Kutsche nachempfunden, aber man beachte den Rohrrahmen und das Lenkrad

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - minimale Instrumentierung

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - nur ein Fahrpedal

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - Blick auf den Elektromotor

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - Blick auf die Technik - einer der beiden Zylinder

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - komplexe Antriebsmechanik mit zwei Brennräumen und einem kombinierten Dynamo/Motor zwischen Benzinmotor und Getriebe

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - als Lot 152 an der RM Auction Hershey vom 9./10. Oktober 2014

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - als Lot 152 an der RM Auction Hershey vom 9./10. Oktober 2014

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - als Lot 152 an der RM Auction Hershey vom 9./10. Oktober 2014

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Armstrong Phaeton (1896) - als Lot 152 an der RM Auction Hershey vom 9./10. Oktober 2014

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Summary

In 1997, Toyota presented the Prius, the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle in the passenger car sector. More than a hundred years earlier, however, an American had already developed a hybrid passenger car, although it never made it beyond the prototype stage. The highly innovative vehicle has survived, however, and shows once again that the early car pioneers achieved incredible things. This report portrays the Armstrong Phaeton of 1896 and takes you through its innovative design elements.

This article contains the following chapters

On a blank sheet of paper
Function before design
Rich in innovation
Tried and tested
Restored

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The automobile had just been invented; Carl Benz had just applied for a patent for a three-wheeled vehicle with an internal combustion engine, which he was granted on November 2, 1886. A few years later, a certain Harry E. Dey was already working on a vehicle concept that was to anticipate many things that would only make it into series production a decade later. Dey built an electric petrol hybrid passenger car. Dey, who had a keen interest in electric vehicles and was looking for ways to extend their range, had actually been commissioned to improve an imported French car for use on American roads for the Roger Mechanical Carriage Company in New York. However, Dey was not convinced by what was on offer and developed his own design, which was realized as a prototype by the Armstrong Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut, around 1895.

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