Description
Robert C. Hupp's career in the automotive industry saw him working with several major names, including Olds Motor Works (1902-1903), Ford Motor Co. (1906-1907), and Regal Motor Car Co. (1907-08), before venturing out on his own in 1908.
The Hupp Motor Car Co. was founded on November 8, 1908, in a rented factory at 345 Bellevue Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. A prototype of the Hupmobile Runabout was built and first unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show on February 15, 1909.
At this show, potential buyers were invited to put down a fifty-dollar deposit per order. The vehicle, named model 20, was a small runabout for 2 passengers, equipped with a 16. 9 horsepower water-cooled 4-cylinder engine, 2-speed transmission, and a rectangular 11-gallon gasoline tank mounted behind the seats. All of this rested on an 86-inch wheelbase, and its cost was $750. 00 F. O. B. Detroit, with additional charges for accessories such as a roof, glass windshield, luggage carrier, gas headlights, and a Prest-O-Lite tank.
Production of the model 20 began in March 1909, with just over 1, 600 units produced that year. Demand was such that by late 1909, Hupp Motor Car Co. moved to larger facilities at Jefferson & Concord, where production in 1910 reached 5, 340 units. Many Hupmobiles were exported abroad, including to New Zealand where 200 units were shipped in 1910.
The first body style of the model 20 was the Runabout (1909), followed the next year by the Runabout, a closed coupe for 3 passengers, and Torpedo body styles. In 1911 and 1912, Runabout, Torpedo, 4-passenger Touring, Utility, and Delivery Wagon styles were available. In total, 14, 500 Hupmobile model 20s were manufactured between 1909 and 1912.
To prove the reliability of the Hupmobile model 20, a 4-passenger touring car embarked on a journey around the world on November 10, 1910. Crossing 26 different countries, including 14 that had never seen an automobile, it covered 48, 600 land miles plus 28, 000 miles by sea, ultimately returning to Detroit on January 24, 1912.
The offered model comes from a private collection and is in excellent preservation, making it a truly remarkable collectible not to be missed.
