Style 214A Battery-powered Electric Motor
4-Wheel Full Elliptic Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear Drum Brakes


*A pioneering electrical car
*The only example known to exist
*Formerly owned by James E. Cousens
*Fitted with an updated fast-charging system
*Functional and recently driven


THE WOODS MOTOR CAR

The Woods Motor Vehicle Company was formed in Chicago in 1899. The backers of the company consisted of a wealthy group of investors, which included several highly placed executives from Standard Oil as well as a number of high-powered businessmen from Toronto, Canada. August Belmont, a prominent New Yorker, and Samuel Insull from Chicago also participated in the venture. Both were weighty sponsors to have on board: Belmont had built the Belmont Park racetrack, while Insull had been Thomas Edison's personal secretary and a co-founder of Edison General Electric, which is now General Electric, a household word if ever there was one. As a result, The Woods Motor Vehicle Company went into business with no less than USD 10 million in capital stock, an amount which should have secured rapid growth for the company.

The investors then purchased the patents of Clinton Edgar Woods, an inventor who had created his first electric vehicle designs in 1897. The goal was to challenge the Electric Vehicle Company on the East Coast, but it was slow work to get production going. Clinton Woods was hired as superintendent of the new company, but he displayed little commercial talent and was eased out in 1901. He went back to designing and manufacturing his own designs and went into receivership shortly thereafter. He ended up a car dealer. In 1902, the Woods Company was reorganized and a new plant constructed on 25th Street in Chicago.

From that time, The Woods Motor Vehicle Company manufactured about 500 vehicles annually, including a popular rear-entrance Tonneau that resembled a gasoline car. The products were high quality and expensive for the era, with prices in the USD 3,000 range. In 1916, Woods introduced a line of gasoline powered and early gas-electric hybrid cars, which were called Dual Power (U.S. Patent # 1244045). But it was too late. Woods went out of business in 1918, having lost market share to companies which focused exclusively on gasoline cars that had become too powerful and durable for the complex gas-electric hybrids to be able to compete.


THE MOTOR CAR OFFERED

The car on offer is an extremely rare survivor. It is believed to be the only 1905 Woods Electric Style 214A Queen Victoria Brougham in existence. The cab is removable for open-air touring and seats two passengers in close comfort when closed. The wheelbase is a short 73 inches, the advertised weight was 2,600 pounds and the silent top speed is in the region of 30 mph. The car has been fitted with a modern charging mechanism and lightweight batteries which provide a useful touring range. Due to its rarity and technical novelty, this 1905 Woods will provide a fascinating conversation piece in any collection, as well as insight into early electrical motoring.


BILEN DER TILBYDES

Denne bil er yderst sjælden og menes at være det eneste eksisterende eksemplar af en 1905 Woods Electric Style 214A Queen Victoria Brougham. Kabinen kan afmonteres hvis man ønsker at køre åben, og når den er lukket er der plads til to passagerer som sidder rimeligt tæt. Den korte akselafstand er på 185 cm, vægten var opgivet til 1.180 kg og tophastigheden er omkring 48 km/t - lydløst. Bilen er blevet udstyret med en moderne opladningsmekanisme og letvægtsbatterier, som giver en god rækkevidde. På grund af dens sjældenhed og innovative teknik, vil en Woods som denne skabe opmærksomhed i enhver samling og vække interesse som et eksempel på en tidlig elbil.

EU Taxes paid
US Import duty exempt
With Danish Registreringsattest