“Early Landmarks of Automotive Engineering” Opens at Audrain Auto Museum

“Early Landmarks in Automotive Engineering,” the latest Audrain Automobile Museum exhibit, which opens on Saturday, December 10^th, is a display of cars and motorcycles from the Audrain Collection that showcase the incredible pace of experimentation and technology from the late 19^th Century to the coming of the modern car in the late 1930s.

Each of the vehicles chosen for the exhibit represent a significant moment in technological advancement.  The exhibit runs from December 10, 2022, through March 5, 2023.

Sixteen cars and four motorcycles will be on display in the museum’s intimate gallery. They range from the elegant and simple 1899 Crouch Steam Runabout and 1912 Rauch & Lang Electric Roadster to the early mass-produced Ford Model T and the sophisticated 1916 Packard Twin Six Runabout.

They also include cars from the 1920s and ’30s — cars built when automobiles became a mark of power, reliability, and luxury, with touring capabilities. Among those on display here will be a 1930 Duesenberg Model J and 1932 Marmon Sixteen LeBaron Coupe, shown alongside an example of the height of European road-going performance: The 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Touring Coupe. 

The world of motorcycles will also be well represented by the 1910 Pierce Four, the 1924 Harley-Davidson, the 1936 Indian 436 “Upside Down” Four and the legendary 1929 Brough Superior SS 100 Alpine Grand Sport.

(16) Automobiles:

1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen Replica

1899 Crouch Steam Runabout

1904 Oldsmobile Curved Dash

1910 American Underslung Traveler by Toy Tonneau

1912 Rauch and Lang Electric Roadster

1916 Packard 1-25 Twin Six Runabout

1923 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Piccadilly Roadster

1925 Ford Model T Tourer 

1930 Cord L29 Phaeton

1930 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Town Cabriolet

1931 Cadillac V16 Model 4235 Convertible Coupe

1932 Marmon Sixteen LeBaron Coupe

1935 Chrysler Airflow C-2 Imperial Coupe

1936 Bugatti Type 57 Two-light Ventoux

1938 Packard Twelve Rollston Landaulet

1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Touring Coupe

(4) Motorcycles:

1910 Pierce Four

1924 Harley-Davidson JDCA

1936 Indian Model 436 “Upside Down” Four

1929 Brough Superior SS 100 Alpine Grand Sport

“It is a fascinating collection of iconic vehicles that vividly explains the rapid evolution of motor vehicles in the first 40 years of the automobile,” said Donald Osborne, Audrain’s CEO. 

“The cars and motorcycles in the exhibit represent technological breakthroughs and experimentation in transportation that brilliantly communicate the creativity and ingenuity of their makers,” said David de Muzio, Audrain’s Executive Director and Curator.

The Audrain Automotive Museum is located at 222 Bellevue Ave in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Adult tickets are $18, while seniors and students are $10. Members get in free.

Learn more here.