The steaming Rolls-Royce
05/05/2024
"The best is not good enough" - this slogan could once have been associated with Rolls-Royce or Bugatti. The modern "Mercedes-Benz Group" even ascribes it to itself in a slightly modified form and with excessive hubris. In fact, however, it was the motto of the "Doble Steam Motor Company" founded in San Francisco in 1920 by the brothers Warren, John, William and Abner Doble, in which Abner held the role of chief designer.
In fact, his quality standards were at least on a par with those of Henry Royce or Ettore Bugatti. The development of the first car took four years. And even after that, he was constantly improving his designs during ongoing "series" production, so that hardly any two cars were identical in design. What they all had in common was a closed water circuit, so that, unlike Stanley and his competitors, the Doble cars did not leave clouds of steam behind them like locomotives. With a water tank filling of 75 liters, a range of 500 km is said to have been possible.
The cold start had also been significantly accelerated compared to conventional steam cars. Instead of taking several minutes to heat up, the Doble took only 20 to 25 seconds to start driving. Some diesels 50 years younger had to preheat for even longer. The secret lay in the self-developed steam generator, which Doble guaranteed for 100,000 miles. A top speed of around 140 km/h was quoted for an early Doble Model E (later even over 150), as was a climbing ability of 35% - at cruising speed, mind you, not in full first gear.
Even the ergonomics of the steering wheels are said to have been extensively tested. The price for so much handcrafted perfection: an absurd 12,000 dollars. By way of comparison, a Ford Model T tumbling off the assembly line en masse cost less than 300 dollars in 1924. Nevertheless, it was calculated in San Francisco that production would be profitable from as few as 20 cars per month. But even this comparatively low figure was not even close to being achieved. By 1932, Doble had only built 42 cars - albeit cars whose acceleration of over 1300 Nm torque was still giving Oldsmobile Rocket drivers a run for their money 20 years later...
Griffith Borgenson, editor-in-chief of the American magazine "Motor Trend", told the detailed story of Abner Doble and his steam cars back in 1951. A German translation of it was printed by " Das Auto - Motor und Sport" in issue 3/1952 . The television presenter and self-confessed car enthusiast Jay Leno revised and technically optimized Howard Hughes' Doble (yes, that was apparently still possible). If you want to see and (not) hear the 2.5-ton, yet whisper-quiet vehicle in action, you should watch the corresponding video in the series "Jay Leno's Garage":
