Thursday 20th May 1948

The Playboy Motor Car Corporation went public, offering twenty million shares of common stock at $1 per share. The Playboy had a 40 hp Continental four-cylinder engine and a three-speed manual transmission. It would get 35 miles per gallon and accelerate from 0-30 miles per hour in six seconds, and 0-50 mph in 17 seconds. The advertised top speed was 75 mph. With a 90-inch wheelbase (shorter than the Rambler American), the Playboy measured 156 inches and sold for $985. Under capitalised, Playboy could not compete with better-financed companies offering more conventional cars. The company only produced 97 cars before going bankrupt in 1951.