America’s First Sports Car? 1951 Crosley Super Sport
Powel Crosley – inventor, entrepreneur, and owner of the Cincinnati Reds major league baseball team – desperately wanted to become an auto manufacturer. He had worked at a dealership selling cars, attempted to establish a factory to assemble other makers’ vehicles, and run a parts company – but none of these quenched the passion he felt about having his name on a car. Finally, in 1939 after accumulating an already-impressive resume of accomplishments, he introduced a tiny, Waukesha-engined convertible automobile at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, following up with a splashy display at the World’s Fair. The hoopla was in direct opposition to the car’s spartan demeanor, and consumer response was underwhelming. In his zeal for economy, Crosley had eschewed trim, provided only three minimal gauges, and constructed a car so tiny that it weighed just 950 lbs. After WWII, when production resumed, Crosley cars had barely budged from their station at the corner of “tiny” and “slow”. Disc brakes on all four wheels were a worthwhile advancement, but not enough enticement when gas rationing ended and customers wanted more luxurious transportation. Crosley’s operations were sunsetting when this 1951 Super Sport was made. It’s a rare car from the last of the Crosley line-up, offered here on facebook Marketplace for $7500. The buyer can probably heave it into the back of a pickup to bring it home from Lenoir, North Carolina. We have T.J. to thank for this great tip!
Crosley graduated from the two-cylinder 12 hp Waukesha engine when he built his Copper-Brazed four-cylinder (COBRA). The new engine’s claim to fame was its tendency to disintegrate due to electrolysis. These were replaced by a conventional Cast Iron Block Assembly (CIBA), also a four-cylinder, but more likely to remain intact. Its 44 cubic inches produces about 26 hp. And those disc brakes we mentioned? The first several sets melted along with the ice when encountering road salt, causing costly warranty claims. The seller’s ad wins this month’s Brevity Award, stating only: “1951 crosley Supersport convertible” with no indication if we have a running vehicle here, or not.
The Super Sport shares its body panels with the Hot Shot, which commenced production in 1949. But the Super Sport offers fancier trim, a folding top, and doors, while the Hot Shot is door-less and its top is removable. This project car needs a full restoration but all the parts and trim appear to be present, including the rare bird hood ornament.
Hardly designed with the grace of an Italian sports car, Crosleys have still collected fans who can afford a car as a curiosity – these folks probably pal around with Jolly buyers. Speaking of affordability, you’ll find very nice Super Sports ranging from mid-teens to twice that. Restoration costs will exceed the market value of this little oddball, but maybe that’s not the most important metric here. Do you think a Crosley makes a good project for a beginner?
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Comments
Pow, pow, Powel makes a powerful car,,it’s certainly not my intent to upstage any author, merely to add to the well written articles, but the author missed the foremost accolade of Powel Crosley, and that was his radio endeavors. He was considered the “Henry Ford” of radio and his war contributions can’t be forgotten. Ironically, I don’t think the Crosley cars ever had a Crosley radio, and were labeled Motorola,(?) that probably had Crosley guts. As sharp and successful as a guy could be, it just shows to go, even those people screw up. Look at what happened to Kaiser. I think he listened to the wrong people that grossly misinterpreted the market. We wanted Niagara Falls down the intake, not “puddle jumpers”. Again timing. 20 years later, it could have been more popular, but history, especially automotive history has shown, it’s all about timing. I think in a very limited setting, this could be fun again. I hope there’s still some interest for this.
Yes I already exceeded my word limit so I skipped the radio thing. In an irony, these cars didn’t come with radios!
You keep digging into my past Michelle. Yes, I do think this is a good car for a first time restorer as I’m one of them. I’ve mentioned before that my first car, at the ripe old age of 13, was a ’49 station wagon that had previously been used as a chicken coop. Everything was good in it except the smell which prompted a look for another body, which we found at a junk yard in really good condition in the form of a ’48 sedan. I was working for the local MG/Jaguar dealer after school and on weekends and they talked me through a year long total restoration on every piece of the car. And yes Michelle, it was a great project for a beginner that has continually restored many cars over his lifetime and is still at it today.
I find the story of Powel Crosley fascinating. Howard makes a good point, describing him as the ‘Henry Ford’ of broadcasting/radio. Any of you who have ever listened to 50,000 watt station WLW from Cincinnati, its roots are Powel Crosley. Stretching one’s thoughts a bit, he might be described as the Elon Musk of his day— big ideas in many areas, some of which played out nicely.
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that restored examples of this car bring five figures.
Good write-up Michelle.
Hi Bob, also not mentioned, my folks had a Crosley refrigerator, gotten in the 80s, still in the house when sold several years back. The color? Green, natch!
Also, Crosley invented the door shelving, my 1955 Crosley “Shelvadoor” refrigerator keeps beer cold in my garage.
500,000 watt station WLW
Wow…four wheel disks…..