1910 Hupmobile Model 20 Runabout
When veteran auto man Robert Craig Hupp finally started his own company in 1908 after stints at Olds, Ford, and Regal, his first offering was a compact two-seater runabout priced at just $750.
Introduced in early 1909 as the Hupmobile Model 20, it notably undersold Henry Ford’s Model T. production commenced swiftly, with over 1,600 examples sold in the first year alone, tripling to over 5,000 units in 1910.
Available initially as just a runabout, the Model 20 range expanded to include a two-passenger torpedo bodystyle, four-passenger tourer, and four-passenger coupe by 1911. Complementing the debut of Hupp’s larger Model 32 in 1912, the petite Model 20 remained available through 1913, ultimately offering a longer wheelbase variant.
This particular Model 20 runabout, acquired by the Merrick Auto Museum in 1993, is finished in an eye-catching blue with white pinstripes and a black folding top. Period details abound like the brass acetylene headlamps, oil-burning side and tail lamps, compact oval fuel tank, and artillery-style wood wheels.
With a running board footprint barely a foot square, the Hupmobile Model 20 remains a distinctly cute pioneer automobile.
Credit: RM Sotheby’s
