Paul Lewis of Denver, Colorado had a dream. He wanted to build an affordable, safe, and reliable car for the American people. It was the early 1930s and automobiles were all the rage.
Lewis eventually found engineers Carl Doman and Edward Marks, who’d started an engineering firm after their former employer, Franklin Automobile, closed up shop. The two engineers were working on an air-cooled, opposed-piston engine design. Finding someone to build his prototype car, Lewis then hunted down John Tjaarda, who’d designed the bodywork for the Lincoln-Zephyr, and hired him to design the Airmobile.
The Doman-Marks team had worked out a 129.9 cubic inch, 60 horsepower, air-cooled, overhead valve, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder engine. This was mated to a three-wheeled, tadpole-style chassis to power the front wheels. The engine sat slightly ahead of the axle, with the rest of the vehicle’s bodywork and passengers countering that forward leverage to balance the car.
In 1937, the prototype Airmobile was renamed the Airomobile, as this slid off the tongue better. Lewis set out to begin marketing his design and to find interested investors. He did so by touring the country in the car itself, clocking over 45,000 miles in less than a year as he stumped it almost door-to-door.
The original prototype design was enhanced in 1938 with a new front end with a more streamlined hood and integral headlamps; along with some other minor upgrades. But Lewis’ creation wasn’t finding buyers. Despite its efficiency and excellent drive dynamics. Visually, the car was just too weird looking to be seen as popular.
When World War II came, Lewis’ car was done. It was eventually sold as Lewis went on to other things. But not before it and, more importantly, its engine, had been thoroughly examined by someone named Porsche on one of his pre-war “study trips.” If the design of the Airomobile’s engine seems familiar, it’s very likely the impetus for Ferdinand Porsche’s air-cooled Volkswagen engine. The first-generation Volkswagen Type 1 is often seen as a combination of this engine and Citroen’s first 2CV prototype.
The engine continued to find life during and after the war as a small aircraft engine known for its high reliability. The Doman-Marks flat-four evolved into the 4AC-150 produced by Air Cooled Motors to be used in a lot of Piper and Taylorcraft planes and in some small commercial vehicles.
The Airomobile prototype ended up in a garage and gathered dust and rust for many years before being found and purchased in 1968 by collector Bill Harrah. Harrah had the prototype restored to its original state, in running order. It has since found residence in Harrah’s National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada. This is where I found it and is where most of the accompanying photos were taken.
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