Vehicle exhibits

This remarkable 1920 Dodge is one of the most distinctive vehicles in the Southward collection. Known as the “Copper Car”, it combines American mechanical engineering with an extraordinary piece of New Zealand craftsmanship.

Its most striking feature is the handcrafted body, created in Auckland in 1921 by Philip Lewis using hand-beaten copper and brass. The result transformed a conventional Dodge chassis into something entirely unique.

Handcrafted in Auckland

Philip Lewis reportedly spent around 1,000 hours creating the bodywork.

Rather than using conventional steel panels, he shaped sheets of copper and brass by hand, forming the curves and surfaces required to create the finished body. The amount of labour involved would have been considerable, particularly given the hand tools and workshop methods available at the time.

The finished car became both a motor vehicle and a piece of craftsmanship, reflecting the ingenuity and individuality that were still common in the early years of motoring.

The Dodge Beneath the Copper

Underneath the unusual bodywork is the robust mechanical layout associated with Dodge Brothers cars of the period.

The car is powered by a 3,479 cc four-cylinder engine producing approximately 35 horsepower at 2,000 rpm. Power is transmitted through a three-speed sliding-gear manual transmission.

Dodge had established a strong reputation for durable engineering, and its cars were known for features such as a 12-volt electrical system at a time when many manufacturers were still using lower-voltage arrangements.

The dependable Dodge chassis provided a solid foundation for Lewis's much more unconventional body.

The Snake-Head Horn

One of the most memorable details on the car is its brass horn, fashioned in the shape of a snake's head.

Mounted prominently at the front, the horn adds another layer of character to the already unusual design. Its appearance helped inspire another nickname for the car, the “Copperhead”.

It is a small detail, but one that captures the spirit of the whole vehicle. This was clearly not intended to look like an ordinary production car.

A Queen Street Debut

The completed Copper Car made its public debut in Auckland's Queen Street on Christmas Eve 1921.

At a time when automobiles were still a relatively new sight on New Zealand roads, a gleaming copper-bodied car with brass detailing and a snake-head horn would have attracted considerable attention.

Its appearance in central Auckland gave the car an immediate public profile and helped establish its reputation as something far removed from the standard vehicles of the day.

Early Motoring and Individual Coachwork

The Copper Car also reflects an era when motor vehicles were much less standardised than they are today.

In the early twentieth century, it was common for a chassis and mechanical components to be combined with bodywork produced separately by a coachbuilder or craftsman. Owners could therefore create cars that differed greatly from factory-standard examples.

Philip Lewis took that idea to an extreme. Rather than commissioning a conventional timber-framed or steel-panelled body, he created a highly individual form using materials rarely associated with automobile construction.

Why Copper?

Copper is visually striking, but it is also a demanding material to use for a complete motor-car body.

It can be shaped and worked by hand, making it suitable for intricate forming, but producing large smooth panels requires considerable skill and patience.

The choice of copper and brass ensured that the car would stand apart visually from the painted steel and timber-bodied vehicles surrounding it. It also gave the completed car a richness and decorative quality more commonly associated with ornamental metalwork.

A Unique New Zealand Survivor

More than a century after its transformation, the Copper Car survives as an unusual piece of New Zealand motoring history.

Its significance lies not only in its age or Dodge mechanical components, but in the creativity involved in its construction. The hand-beaten body, brass detailing and snake-head horn make it a genuinely individual vehicle rather than simply another surviving example of a production model.

It also demonstrates how early motorists and craftsmen were willing to modify, personalise and reinvent automobiles in ways that would be far less common once mass-produced bodywork became the industry standard.

This Car

The Southward Copper Car brings together several different stories.

It is a 1920 Dodge mechanically, a piece of Auckland craftsmanship physically, and a surviving example of the highly individual character of early motoring.

Created by Philip Lewis in 1921 and publicly displayed in Queen Street that Christmas Eve, its hand-beaten copper and brass body remains its defining feature.

Add the distinctive snake-head horn and the nickname “Copperhead”, and this is a car with a personality unlike almost anything else in the collection.