Seiverling Museum, LLC Pedal Car Museum Blog

Pedal cars of the Modern Era

In the 1920’s and 1930’s pedal car manufacturers like American National, Gendron, and Garton made extravagant pedal cars that had full suspensions, gear boxes, hand brakes, many other neat features. As the years went on, the pedal cars became less extravagant and simple. The “sad face” pedal car is a great example of how simple, (less cost to buy), became more popular. Today we have, what I call reproductions that are still simple and relatively easy to afford, that are produced all over the world. While you can make these reproductions into one of a kind pedal cars, with some decals and some metal fabrication, there have been a few “new” pedal cars that have come out within the last year or so that remind me of earlier years. The two that come to mind are the Audi Autounion Type C pedal car and the Ferrari FXX Exclusive. The Audi Autounion Type C is a pedal car with a price of over $10,000 with chain drive, detailed instruments, leather seat, and many other jaw dropping details. The other pedal car that came out in 2008 is the Ferrari FXX Exclusive. It has a speedometer, lap counter, 7 speed transmission, rear disc brakes, 12” alloy rims and low profile tires, and can hold up to 350 pounds, (an adult could ride it). The Ferrari FXX Exclusive has a retail price of just over $2,000. Hopefully more manufacturers will be coming out with other intriguing pedal cars as these. Let me know if you have found any others that are as special as these.