The Martin-Wasp or Wasp is a luxury American

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

which was built by the Martin-Wasp Corporation in

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous t ...

, from 1919 to 1925.

History

Karl Hamlen Martin designed

bespoke The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...

coachwork A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...

automobile bodies, as well as creating designs for Kenworthy,

Barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley ...

, Roamer, Owen-Magnetic, Dorris and other automobile manufacturers. From 1916 to 1918 he was an independent body designer for imported

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpa ...

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated ...

Mors Mors may refer to: *Mors (mythology), the personification of death in Roman mythology *Mors, Latin for death *Mors (automobile), a French car manufacturer from 1895 to 1925 :* American Mors, Mors vehicles produced under licence in America by the S ...

Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...

, and others. Martin also designed and cast a St. Christopher medal in bronze that was successfully marketed for automobiles between 1917 and 1920. In 1919 Martin leased workshops at a Pleasant street plant in Bennington, Vermont and incorporated the Martin-Wasp Corporation to build coach-built automobiles. The cars were custom built in tranches of 6 at a time, and would be considered an "assembled car" using high-end automotive parts from major manufacturers. The Wasp coachwork was Karl Martin's

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

design that he called a Rickshaw Phaeton. It was described as having sharply pointed stylized fenders, fully-nickeled German radiator and headlights, large step plates, natural wood bows on top with many curves, bullet lights in the windshield, and black lacquer paint contrasting with its natural

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It h ...

hood.

Rudge-Whitworth Rudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, Whitworth Cycle Co. of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry P ...

wire wheels, stylized aluminum

stinger A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal. An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of ve ...

s on the hood, red leather interior with in-laid wood dash with a built-in St. Christopher's medal, completed the description. The first Wasp was done just in time for National Automobile Week in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and was exhibited at the Commodore Hotel in January, 1920. The brochure offered was titled ''Automobiles Wasp''. The display car was purchased by

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...

The Wasp had a 4-cylinder Wisconsin engine on a 136-inch wheelbase. The price with coachwork was $5,500, . In 1922 Martin announced his next series which would be a six-cylinder Continental engine custom car, with a 144-inch wheelbase priced at $10,000, (). The company built 17 Wasps between 1919 and 1925, 14 four-cylinder and 3 six-cylinder on the longer chassis. In 1947 an additional car was assembled from a factory 1921 4-cylinder chassis using Karl Martin's coachwork. Martin-Wasp Corporation is considered to be Vermont's only early serial automobile manufacturer. Three Wasps survive, one of which is on display at the

Bennington Museum The Bennington Museum is an accredited museum with notable collections of art and regional history. It is located at 75 Main Street, Bennington, Vermont, USA. The museum's history dates to 1852 when the Bennington Historical Association was first ...

in Bennington, Vermont.

Gallery

File:Martin-Wasp Touring Car, view 7, designed by Karl Hamlin Martin, made by Martin-Wasp Corporation, c. 1924, Bennington VT - Bennington Museum - Bennington, VT - DSC09070.JPG, alt=, Martin-Wasp Radiator Emblem File:Martin-Wasp Touring Car, view 1, designed by Karl Hamlin Martin, made by Martin-Wasp Corporation, c. 1924, Bennington VT - Bennington Museum - Bennington, VT - DSC09068.JPG, alt=, 1924 Martin-Wasp - Bennington VT Museum File:Martin-Wasp Touring Car, view 4, designed by Karl Hamlin Martin, made by Martin-Wasp Corporation, c. 1924, Bennington VT - Bennington Museum - Bennington, VT - DSC09064.JPG, alt=, 1924 Martin-Wasp - Bennington VT Museum File:Martin-Wasp Touring Car, view 5, designed by Karl Hamlin Martin, made by Martin-Wasp Corporation, c. 1924, Bennington VT - Bennington Museum - Bennington, VT - DSC09077.JPG, alt=, 1924 Martin-Wasp - Rickshaw Phaeton Body

References

{{reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Vintage vehicles 1910s cars 1920s cars Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Luxury vehicles Coachbuilders of the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1919 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1925 American automobile designers Cars introduced in 1919

History

Gallery

See also

References