Haynes Light Twelve History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
Start with a make and model. Add a year where a detailed guide is available.
Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
Browse this model's history and yearsHistory
Haynes unveiled a twelve-cylinder car at the New York Automobile Show in January 1916, entering production that August — making the small Kokomo firm one of the earliest American makers of a series-production V12, close on the heels of Packard's Twin Six. It was marketed as the 'Light Twelve.'
The car used a 5.8-liter (approximately 5,840 cc), 60-degree overhead-valve V12 engine rated near 60 brake horsepower, driving through a three-speed manual gearbox on a 127-inch wheelbase. The first cars were the Models 40 and 41: the Model 40 came as a five-passenger touring car or three-passenger roadster; the Model 41 as a seven-passenger sedan.
The Light Twelve was a prestige flagship for a maker better known for its sixes, and it stayed in the catalog through 1922. It was always a low-volume car — fewer than roughly 650 were built across its run — and it could not reverse the company's decline against larger, better-capitalised rivals.
Body styles
- Touring
- Roadster
- Sedan
Related models
Collect the nameplate
Find a scale model of the Haynes Light Twelve
Search Amazon across available years, colors, and scales. Exact releases vary, so confirm the listing before ordering.