The Owen Magnetic was one of the most unusual luxury cars of the early twentieth century.

Built in an era when most cars relied on conventional clutches and gearboxes, the Owen Magnetic used a petrol engine to generate electricity, which then powered an electric motor connected to the drivetrain. The result was a remarkably smooth form of propulsion that anticipated ideas later seen in modern hybrid vehicles.

A Different Way to Drive

The Owen Magnetic had no direct mechanical connection between the petrol engine and the rear wheels.

Instead, the engine drove a generator. Electrical energy from that generator was then used to power an electric motor connected to the driveshaft.

This arrangement allowed the car to move without a conventional clutch or multi-speed gearbox.

For drivers of the period, this was a highly unusual experience. The car could accelerate smoothly and progressively, without the repeated gear changes expected in most contemporary automobiles.

The Car of a Thousand Speeds

Owen Magnetic promoted the system under the memorable slogan “The Car of a Thousand Speeds.”

The phrase referred to the near-continuous variation in power delivery available through the electromagnetic transmission.

A small control lever near the steering wheel allowed the driver to vary the electrical and magnetic relationship within the drive system. Rather than selecting fixed mechanical gears, the driver could increase or decrease the amount of torque delivered to the rear wheels.

This gave the car a smoothness that was one of its greatest selling points.

A Petrol-Electric Luxury Car

The Owen Magnetic was not an electric car in the modern sense.

Its energy still came from a petrol engine, but that engine did not drive the wheels directly. Instead, it powered the electrical system that ultimately turned the driveshaft.

In modern terminology, this arrangement has similarities to a series-hybrid drivetrain.

That makes the Owen Magnetic particularly fascinating today. More than a century ago, its engineers were already exploring ways to separate the petrol engine from the direct mechanical task of turning the wheels.

Refined Rather Than Simple

The system had clear advantages in smoothness and ease of operation, but it was also complex.

The generator, electric motor and electromagnetic drive added cost and weight compared with a conventional mechanical transmission.

This complexity placed the Owen Magnetic firmly in the luxury market, where buyers were more willing to pay for refinement and unusual engineering.

An Expensive Automobile

The Owen Magnetic was dramatically more expensive than a mass-market car.

While a Ford Model T could be bought for only a few hundred US dollars during this period, an Owen Magnetic cost several thousand.

That price placed it beyond the reach of most motorists and limited production to a relatively small number of wealthy buyers.

Its technical sophistication was therefore also one of the reasons it could never compete with simpler, cheaper cars produced in much larger numbers.

Electric Braking

The electric motor also played a role in slowing the vehicle.

Rather than relying solely on conventional mechanical brakes, the drivetrain could use the electric motor to provide braking assistance.

This was another advanced feature for the period and demonstrated how thoroughly the Owen Magnetic's electrical system was integrated into the driving experience.

Built in Small Numbers

Only 974 Owen Magnetics are believed to have been produced in total.

That small production figure reflects both the car's high price and the complexity of its engineering.

Today, surviving examples are rare and provide a fascinating glimpse into an alternative path that early automobile technology might have taken.

A Machine Ahead of Its Time

The Owen Magnetic appeared decades before hybrid vehicles became a mainstream part of the motor industry.

Its engineers were attempting to solve many of the same problems later faced by hybrid designers: how to make power delivery smoother, how to reduce the need for conventional gear changes and how to use electrical systems to assist propulsion and braking.

The technology of the time made the system expensive and complicated, but the underlying idea was remarkably forward-looking.

This Car

This 1918 Owen Magnetic Tourer is powered by a six-cylinder petrol engine and uses the marque's distinctive electromagnetic petrol-electric drive system.

What makes the car so significant is not simply its age or rarity, but the way it approaches the problem of propulsion.

Rather than relying on a conventional gearbox and direct mechanical connection from engine to rear wheels, it used electricity and magnetism to deliver power smoothly.

More than a century later, that makes the Owen Magnetic one of the most intriguing examples of early hybrid thinking in automotive history.