White Model C Steam Car Demi Limousine
The bodywork of this White steam car is interchangeable. The ‘winter body’ is currently mounted; an elegant, open body is available for summer.
The car is in its original state, partly due to an incident which took place in 1908 when one of the boiler tubes blew. The car was towed to the owner’s home and a shed was built around it. The White did not see the light of day again until the 1930s when it was discovered by F. Jarrett. The car was made roadworthy and from 1937 to the 1960s it became a regular entry in the London to Brighton Run.
The compound steam engine condenses the steam and leads it back to the water tank, thus increasing the range. The condenser is at the front, where the radiator is normally located.
The White from Cleveland, Ohio, stood out from other steam cars as its owner Rollin White designed a quick steaming and very quiet boiler at the turn of the century. William H. Cody, better known as ‘Buffalo Bill’, was a famous White owner. It was also to become the first official car of a US president, William Howard Taft.