See two Stout Scarabs, the clever creations of aviation pioneer Bill Stout, on the road in this rare silent film footage.

We can best describe William Bushnell Stout (1880-1956) ) as a 20th century visionary. A pioneer of commercial aviation, he founded Stout Air Services, America’s first regularly scheduled passenger airline, and in partnership with Henry and Edsel Ford, he developed the all-metal Ford Tri-Motor airliner. In land transportation, he created the Pullman Sailplane, a bullet-shaped rail car, and for industrialist Gar Wood he created an advanced city bus design. But among car enthusiasts, Bill Stout is probably best known for the Stout Scarabs, his series of futuristic streamlined automobiles.

A total of nine Scarabs (approximately) were built between 1932 and 1939, historians say, all somewhat different in detail but sharing the same rear-engine configuration and Ford V8 powertrain. Stout said he was inspired in part by Buckminster Fuller’s radical Dymaxion car, but instead of the Dymaxion’s unstable rear-steering tricycle layout, he based his Scarabs on a far more practical four-wheel, front-steering platform. The Scarabs displayed excellent road manners, reportedly, while the roomy interior packaging foreshadowed the modern minivan, writers often note.

The rare silent film footage we’re sharing here includes the original 1932 Scarab, which employed somewhat different styling than the rest, and one of the later models as well. The background for some of the footage, meanwhile, is instantly recognizable as Washington D.C. We ride along as a Scarab travels over the Arlington Memorial Bridge, which was brand new at the time, and then visits the Lincoln Memorial. The man with the bushy hair, of course, is Bill Stout himself. Enjoy the video.