1939 American Bantam Model 60 2-Door Station Wagon
2024.0014.0001, Savoy Collection
Engine: 50 cu. in. (.8L) 4 cylinder
Output: 20 hp
Transmission: 3-speed Manual
Wheelbase: 75 in.
Overall Length: 120 in.
Weight: 1,200 lbs.
Top Speed: Unknown
No. Produced: 322
Original Price: $545
Manufacturer: American Bantam
Established in 1929, the American Austin company quickly discovered that despite the Depression, Americans were not interested in small cars. Priced at $5 more than a Model A Ford and more stylish with a body designed by Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, its 40 MPG, and celebrity owners such as Ernest Hemingway and Al Jolson could not attract buyers. The company ceased production in 1936, but all was not lost.
In 1937, Roy Evans, an American Austin super salesman, resurrected the company under the name American Bantam. The Roosevelt Hotel was the site for the Bantam’s public introduction. Engine builder Harry Miller, designer Alex de Sakhnoffsky, and race car driver Lee Oldfield pitched in. Operating on a shoestring budget, the company produced the Bantam Station Wagon, perhaps the world’s “smallest woodie” and other models. Unfortunately, the public still wasn’t impressed, and automobile production ceased in 1941.