Duryea

automobile

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June 25, 2026

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Charles E. and J. Frank Duryea are credited with building one of the first successful gasoline-powered automobiles in the United States. Charles conceived the idea for a car after seeing a compact gasoline engine, and with his brother Frank, they built a car in Springfield, Massachusetts. Their first successful run was on September 22, 1893. An improved version, largely Frank's work, won races in 1895, and thirteen were manufactured and sold. The brothers later went their separate ways, with Frank developing the well-known Stevens-Duryea automobile.1

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automobile
The United States
The Duryea consisted of a one-cylinder gasoline engine, with electrical ignition, installed in a secondhand carriage. It first ran on September 21, 1893. Driving a later model, J. Frank Duryea won the first automobile race in America in which more than two cars competed, the Chicago…
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The Duryea consisted of a one-cylinder gasoline engine, with electrical ignition, installed in a secondhand carriage. It first ran on September 21, 1893. Driving a later model, J. Frank Duryea won the first automobile race in America in which more than two cars competed, the Chicago…
Read More