1929 Ruxton Muller Front Drive Prototype
At the 2008 Barrett Jackson auction in Scottsdale, the only Muller Front Wheel Drive Ruxton will be up for public sale. Fresh from restoration, the car debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours. The following as an exerpt from the auction catalogue.
”This is the renowned #2 Ruxton prototype 114″ wheelbase custom front wheel drive roadster (frame #1004) built by William Muller, designer of the Ruxton. Archie Andrews, the flamboyant owner of New Era Motors, commissioned Bill to build a sedan prototype of the Ruxton at the Board Machine Co. in Philadelphia in the Summer of 1929.
Bill had a great racing history. While building the sedan, he went to the back room and also built ”a little sporty super-charged Ruxton roadster for fellows like myself who really enjoyed fast road cars”. Bill installed a Muller Front Drive badge on the radiator shell. It’s still on the car today.
Once it was completed, Bill drove the Muller Front Drive roadster throughout the US demonstrating his front wheel drive technology and preparing for Ruxton production. He even took it to Indy during the 1930 race week. After the Indy 500 race, some of the drivers reportedly turned 105mph timed laps in the super-charged Muller Front Drive. They had a tug of war on the infield with the Cord pace car and there it was nicknamed the ‘Alligator’.
By September of 1930, production of the Ruxton had stopped. Bill continued to drive the ‘Alligator’ as his personal car for the next few years. Bill removed the super-charger after about a year and there is not one on the car today.”
In Detail
| submitted by | Richard Owen |
| price $ | $ Continental 18S-6 Inline-8 |
| displacement | 4392 cc / 268 in³ |
| power | 74.6 kw / 100 bhp |
| specific output | 22.77 bhp per litre |
| body / frame | Steel Body over Steel Frame |
| driven wheels | FWD |
| f brake size | mm / in |
| r brake size | mm / in |
| transmission | 3-Speed Manual |
| gear ratios | :1 |
