The Buffum V8: America’s Long Ago Forgotten First V8 Powered Production Car

He was a man with dozens of patents to his name, the designer of the first four cylinder car in America, the first eight cylinder car, and the first V-8 production car, but have you ever heard of him?

The answer is no.

H.H. Buffum was a genius engineer of the late 1800s and early 1900s. He made a fortune making equipment for the shoe manufacturing industry and then turned his attention to cars. Take this fascinating ride back into the history of American cars, to the earliest days of the industry when anyone with some money, a machine shop, and a dream could be a car manufacturer.

This fast moving history talks patents, inventions, breakthroughs, theft, horsepower, and more. Where did the first V8 come from? How about a small town in Massachusetts.

No kidding.