It’s an unusual idea, but a recurring one: the rhomboid or diamond-layout automobile. Here’s an American example, the Gordon Diamond.

There is a general consensus that four wheels is an ideal number for an automobile, butt there’s been less than total agreement at times about where they should be. The diamond layout, also known as the rhomboid or lozenge configuration, has been the subject of experiments here and there, especially in Europe. (See our feature on the Pininfarina  X here.) However, there was at least one interesting example in the United States. Its builder was  inventor H. Gordon Hansen of San Lorenzo, California, and he called his machine the Gordon Diamond Sedan.

Of semi-aircraft construction with an elaborate steel-tubing structure to support the welded steel body, the Gordon Diamond boasted a remarkably long wheelbase of 156 inches. Yet its turning radius was a mere 12 feet, as both the front and rear single wheels steered, with countersteering at the rear. Power was supplied by the ubiquitous Ford Flathead V8, mounted in the rear and driving the two center wheels through a conventional Ford V8 transmission and axle.

Naturally, the workbench magazines of the time were fascinated, reporting that Hansen invested $5,000 and 4,000 hours in labor constructing his rhomboid car. Like Pininfarina, he believed that the unusual wheel layout provided a superior aerodynamic shape. Also, comfortable seating for six was accommodated by the unusually wide (80 inches) but teardrop-shaped body.

Hansen drove the Diamond for several years and 100,000 miles around the Oakland, California area, finding the ride and handling excellent in his view. He even pitched the design to several major American automakers, reportedly, though obviously there were no takers. Hansen eventually sold his Diamond Sedan to mega-collector Bill Harrah, and it was displayed in his Reno, Nevada museum for many years before it was sold to a private collector in Montana, where as far as we know, it still resides.