« Jay Leno’s Storage » has featured all kinds of automobiles, however this 1923 McFarlan Mannequin 154 Knickerbocker Cabriolet is really one in every of a sort.
The automotive is a part of California’s Nethercutt Collection, and Vice President Cameron Richards believes it is the one surviving instance.
Initially primarily based in Connersville, Indiana, McFarlan was a carriage builder that moved into automotive manufacturing, but it surely targeted extra on luxurious than quantity, constructing solely 600 automobiles per 12 months between 1910 and 1928.
McFarlan did not do issues in half measures. The Mannequin 154 weighs 5,200 kilos and, behind its Rolls-Royce-like grille, sits a 572-cubic-inch inline-6 with 18 spark plugs and 4 valves per cylinder. These valves are arrayed on both facet of the combustion chambers in a T-head association, which was most well-liked on the time due to low high quality gasoline, Leno explains within the video. The T-head eased cooling, lessening the possibility of detonation.
All of these valves and spark plugs generated 120 hp, which is channeled to the rear wheels by means of a 3-speed guide transmission with a contemporary H-pattern shifter.
This automotive was owned by Roscoe Conkling « Fatty » Arbuckle, a well-known comic within the interval, and sports activities a fold-out cover and director’s chair so the star might chill out throughout relaxation stops. The driving force was much less lucky. Arbuckle’s Mannequin 154 has a well-liked physique fashion for the interval, with a coated rear compartment however an open cockpit.
Whereas forgotten right this moment, the McFarlan was as soon as thought-about an American rival to Rolls-Royce, Richards notes. Leno agrees with that, evaluating the automotive from Indiana to a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. In contrast to Rolls-Royce although, McFarlan did not survive. The agency went bankrupt and was finally purchased by Auburn, one other ill-fated Indiana automaker.
