Is the Haynes world’s most controversial ‘world’s first’?

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There’s a ‘world’s first’ for everything. And while we’re steering clear of the well-worn debate about the world’s first car, we’ve encountered some intriguing sub-categories—each one a potential spark for debate. From the world’s first V8 engine to the first all-wheel-drive lorry, autobus, or even the first collector car, these claims are always good for conversation.

Now, we venture into a sub-sub-category—one that may divide opinions for entirely different reasons. The tourer shown here is believed to be the car featured in the world’s first pornographic film. Apologies if that’s not your cup of tea, but the car appears so prominently in the movie that we feel it deserves a mention—controversial as it may be.

The film, A Free Ride, is believed to have been released in 1915, though in great secrecy—at least judging by the credits: ‘A. Wise Guy’ is listed as the director, ‘Will B. Hard’ as the cinematographer, and ‘Will She’ for the titles. The actresses are known only as ‘The Jazz Girls’. The plot involves a moustachioed man driving through the countryside in his roadster when he encounters two women. He offers them a ride, and the rest… well, we’ll leave it at that.

Let’s focus on the car instead. The usually well-informed IMCDB.com (Internet Movie Car Database) lists it as a Stutz Bearcat, though that seems unlikely. In fact, several contributors there note that the car doesn’t appear to date from 1915 at all, but rather looks more like a model from around 1920.

Jalopnik’s Jason Torchinsky suggests it’s a 1912 Haynes 50-60 Model Y Touring Car, which seems plausible. He writes:
“Elwood Haynes, the man who founded the Haynes Automobile Company, was raised a strict Presbyterian, served as president of the YMCA from 1919 to 1921, and was a staunch supporter of Prohibition. While there's no record of whether he knew one of his namesake cars starred in a film centered around a vigorous three-way in the woods, it's a safe bet he would not have been pleased.”

Interestingly, the car is right-hand drive. What more can we say?

Words: Jeroen Booij

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