The first production passenger car with front-wheel drive, the Ruxton features several design and engineering innovations. However, plagued first by manufacturing difficulties, then brought down by corporate intrigue and infighting, only 96 Ruxton automobiles were produced before going out of business after only eighteen months. Even the Ruxton name was a fiasco, intending to woo a potential investor who eventually did not participate in the company. Since front-wheel drive car designs do not have to accommodate the transmission and driveshaft of a rear-wheel drive configuration, Joseph Ledwinka’s design features channels in the underbody into which the frame rails mount. The result is a car that is about ten inches lower than its contemporaries. It also eliminated the necessity of running boards.

This sedan was the second-to-last Ruxton built and the last one sold. It wears a paint scheme designed to accentuate the distinctive low stance of the Ruxton by art deco progenitor Joseph Urban, an architect, illustrator and set designer contracted by the company. Urban also specified the use of fine silk and cloth by Schumacher of New York City for the interiors. Schumacher supplied the correct fabrics for the 2014 restoration. Only nineteen Ruxtons are known to have survived.

• YEAR & MAKE - 1932 Ruxton
• MODEL NAME - Model C
• BODY TYPE - 4-Door, 5-Passenger Sedan 
• BODY BY - Budd
• # CYLS. - V8
• TRANSMISSION TYPE & NUMBER - 3-Speed Manual, Front Wheel Drive
• WEIGHT - 4,158 lbs
• ESTIMATED PRODUCTION - 81
• HP - 100
• C.I.D. - 269
• WHEELBASE - 130″
• PRICE NEW - $4,500