Briggs & Stratton, a company renowned for manufacturing small engines used in various applications from lawnmowers to washing machines, also developed a hybrid car in 1980. The Briggs & Stratton Hybrid concept car was a unique gasoline-electric hybrid that offered “the best of both worlds.” The concept was not entirely new, as electric power was popular in the early days of automobiles before the rise of the internal combustion engine, which, despite being noisy and emitting harmful fumes, provided more power for its size and weight than electric motors.
The body design of the hybrid car, with its rear-end resembling the Dodge Omni 024 and the doors and windshield sourced from the Volkswagen Scirocco, is not the most striking feature. Instead, the car’s six wheels catch the eye. The two extra wheels at the rear end support the frame carrying the 12 batteries of six volts each, a design inherited from the Marathon C360, a six-wheeled delivery vehicle made by Quebec-based Marathon Electric. The Briggs & Stratton Hybrid car had a parallel hybrid setup, enabling it to run solely on electricity, gasoline, or a combination of both.
