Playboy Automobile Company
Playboy Motor Car Corporation was a Buffalo, New York-based automobile company, established in 1947. The company only made 99 cars including 1 prototype, 97 finished serial numbered production cars, as well as 1 unfinished car numbered 98 which has survived with zero miles on the odometer (99 cars total) [1] before going bankrupt in 1951.
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Fate | folded |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Lou Horowitz Charlie Thomas Norm Richardson |
| Products | Playboy Convertible automobile |
| Brands | Playboy |
The company
Company founder Lou Horowitz was a Packard dealer who after World War 2 saw a need for a new smaller car for postwar America, a cheaper car than the Packards he sold. It would be built from outsourced parts and cost around $900. Horowitz recruited friends Norm Richardson (a skilled mechanic) and Charlie Thomas (a former Pontiac engineer). In the wake of Preston Tucker's bad press they had difficulty forming a dealer network, and only finished 97 production cars before declaring bankruptcy in 1951.[1]
The Playboy convertible prototype
| Playboy Convertible prototype | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Playboy Motor Car Corporation |
| Also called | Playboy PR |
| Production | 1 |
| Model years | 1947 |
| Assembly | Buffalo, New York, USA |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 2 door convertible |
| Layout | rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Playboy Convertible production model |
The original prototype shares the same general shape as the production model, but features a rear mounted engine layout and a soft folding top.
The Playboy prototype today
It is owned and has been restored by company founder Lou Horowitz's grandson David Kaplan. According to Kaplan, "The black one never had an official number. When I restored it I put a PR on it for prototype." and "I finished it in the early '90s and I don't drive it much but I do drive it."[1]
The Playboy convertible production model
| Playboy Convertible | |
|---|---|
 Playboy Convertible | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Playboy Motor Car Corporation |
| Production | 97 (finished production cars) plus one unfinished survivor numbered 98 |
| Assembly | Buffalo, New York |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 2 door convertible |
| Layout | front-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Hercules flathead inline four-cylinder (early models) Continental flathead inline four-cylinder 2 L (92 cu in) (later models) |
| Transmission | 3 speed manual transmission |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 3,937 mm (155 in) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Playboy Convertible prototype |
The Playboy had a 40 hp (30 kW) Continental[2] four-cylinder sidevalve[3] engine driving a three-speed manual transmission. It would get 35 mpg‑US (6.7 L/100 km; 42 mpg‑imp). It would accelerate from 0-30 mph (48 km/h) in six seconds, and 0-50 mph (80 km/h) in 17 seconds. Advertised top speed was 75 mph (121 km/h).[4]
With a 90-inch (2,300 mm) wheelbase[5] (10 in or 250 mm) less than the Rambler American), the Playboy measured 156 in (4,000 mm) long overall,[5] and was priced at just US$985.[5] It ran on 12-inch-diameter (30 cm) rims, and weighed 1,900 lb (860 kg). It was offered as a three-passenger convertible with a folding steel top.[5] (A station wagon was planned, but never built.)[5]
Under-capitalized, Playboy could not compete with better-financed companies offering more conventional cars.[4]
Playboy cars today
Of 97 production cars sold, only about 43 are believed to survive today. Five (including the prototype) are owned by David Kaplan, grandson of company founder Lou Horowitz. Today Kaplan is an authority on his grandfather's car.[1]
See also
- List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers
- List of car manufacturers of the United States
- List of New York companies
Notes
- Old Cars Weekly News and Marketplace Volume 47, Number 4, February 8, 2018,pages 48-50
- Flory, J. "Kelly", Jr. American Cars 1946-1959 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy, 2008), p.1012.
- Flory, p.1012.
- Flory, p.1013.
- Flory, p.1012.
Sources
- Flory, J. "Kelly", Jr. American Cars 1946-1959. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy, 2008.