One for our own "Dick'...
A Name You'll Never Forget
Most Powerful Brass Era Car, pre-1916
1907-1908 Apperson Big Dick, 96hpFor those with $15,000 to spend, Apperson would put their race engine in a 50hp Jackrabbit runabout to create the Big Dick. A 96hp racing runabout, the Big Dick actually had the highest advertised horsepower in an American automobile through 1914. It had open exhaust and a 6 1/4-inch bore and 5 1/2-inch stroke, for 675-cu.in. Amazingly, the company sold 15 of them, and that in the face of competition from Locomobile's own $15,000 short stroke 990.1-cu.in., 90hp Cup Racer (the factory claimed 120hp for the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup car upon which it was based).
A snippet from:
Top Ten Most Powerful ClassicsFeature Article from Hemmings Classic Car
April, 2012 - David Traver Adolphus
When it comes to American performance cars, some of these are not those you would expect to see included on any Top Ten list. For the most part, we surprised ourselves with the results. They're the most powerful, all right--it's just that if you're familiar with the Porters and Buffums of the world, or even a 400hp Mercury, then you're among a minority. In fact, there was a special word for high-horsepower cars in the Brass Era: freaks.
The full article from Hemmings...
