Owen Magnetic M 25-4

'Magnetic' refers to the magnetic transmission with which this car is equipped.

'Magnetic' refers to the magnetic transmission with which this car is equipped. Mounted on the crankshaft of the six cylinder petrol engine, in place of the flywheel, are a generator and a large horseshoe magnet. Between the poles of the magnet is an electric motor connected to the drive shaft. The generator and the magnet produce current, which in turn makes the drive shaft rotate. A lever on the steering wheel is used to regulate the speed. The principle comes from the propulsion system of a warship, the USS New Mexico from 1915. Because of the continuously variable transmission, the Owen Magnetic is called 'The Car of a Thousand Speeds', the 'car with a thousand gears'. R.M. Owen & Company set up in New York in 1915. Despite an order for 500 cars for England, where they were to be sold under the name Crown Magnetic, the company went bankrupt six years later. The magnetic transmission system was judged to be too expensive and too unconventional. Famous owners of an Owen Magnetic included the tenors Enrico Caruso and John McCormack.