Airflow Industries "Torpedo" Gas-Powered Racing Tether Car, 1940

01

Artifact Overview

Tether cars, gas-powered model race cars, were popular in the 1930s and 1940s. They were raced individually while tethered to a central pivot, or against each other on a scaled-down board track. New York-based Airflow Industries advertised its "Defender" cars as the only ones "aerodynamically streamlined and wind-tunnel tested." This design process, the company boasted, was the secret to greater speed.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Model car

Date Made

1940

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

2013.47.71

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Eric Zausner and the E-Z Spindizzy Foundation.

Material

Aluminum (Metal)
Rubber (Material)

Dimensions

Height: 6.5 in
Width: 10 in
Length: 19 in

Inscriptions

stamped: Airflow Industries, Inc., NY
Airflow Industries "Torpedo" Gas-Powered Racing Tether Car, 1940