In 1900 long before Toyota crowded the globe with it’s Hybrid Prius this soon to be famous car maker produced this behemoth half electric half petrol monster. Its creator was only 18 years old when boarded a train to Vienna to start his first job. With no official engineering degree he created a non-friction drivetrain using four hub mounted electric motors.

Each motor was rated at 2.5 horsepower at cruising speed. At full throttle for short bursts they were capable of 7.5 horsepower to each wheel. The electro-car created a press whilrwind. An order was placed by a wealthy Englishman. The car ordered was to much different than the car shown at the 1900 Paris Auto Expo. The special car would have to be four wheel drive and capable of running on both gas and electric. The young skilled engineer melded the two drivetrains in short order. 

The resulting large barge was a monster. The 44 batteries weighed in at close to two tons. The porty cruiser would tip the scales at close to 6000 LBS !!. The price was also massive for the time. A whopping 15,000 Austrian Crowns. The car was personaly delivered to the rich British gentleman in person by the young talented engineer. The Richie Rich customer was so happy with his Hybrid he ordered another. This time in 2 wheel drive. The owner of the this automaker would say of his gifted engineer “He is very young, but a man with a big career before him” Little did he know his employee would go on to design some of the most famous cars of all time. So ahead of its time that NASA studied and used the design principles for the Lunar Rover in use with the Apollo Program. What Auto Is This ??