IMP

Imp Cyclecar Co. (1913-1914)
Auburn, Indiana

This is a restored Imp hood script    acdm

The Imp Cyclecar Company was a subsidiary of the W. H. McIntyre Company (see McIntyre). The Imp was a small, lightweight cyclecar designed by William B. Stout, who later designed the Stout Scarab motor car and the Ford trimotor airplane.

The Imp was powered by a 15 hp vee-twin air-cooled engine with friction transmission and belt drive. The Imp had no axles and the wheels were mounted on transverse springs. A four-cylinder model followed in 1914. 

Imp production began in 1913 at ten cars a month but increased to 50 cars a month by mid-1914. Total Imp production was several hundred cars but the Imp cyclecar was a distraction for the W. H. McIntyre Company, which was in serious trouble by late 1914 and, when the company folded, the Imp was finished too.

Emblem

A restored Imp cyclecar on display at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Auto Museum is possibly the sole surviving Imp, see below:

This is an Imp cyclecar with a painted hood side script (1914) acdm

The Imp did not carry an emblem but did display the "Imp " name in the form of a script painted or using a decal attached to the side of the hood. The restored example shown above has been given a brightly colored painted "Imp" script, see photo shown above at the top of this post. This script style is based on the original "Imp" script style shown below.

The original Imp cyclecar had the "Imp" name displayed on the side of the hood in much smaller letters, probably using a colored decal, see the original photo shown below:

Imp cyclecar showing hood side nameplate script (1913)  acdm

Close-up showing Imp hood side script (1913)