Velie Model 60 History

The Model 60 arrived for 1925 with two features genuinely novel for a mid-price American car: balloon tires (which softened the ride on the era's rough roads) and four-wheel Lockheed hydraulic brakes. Both had appeared on expensive European and top-tier American cars, but were rare at Velie's price point.

Engineer Herbert Snow refined the overhead-valve six in 1926, enlarging displacement to 221 cubic inches and raising output to 58 hp. The 118-inch wheelbase Royal Sedan — Velie's most visible 1926 offering — was priced at $1,635, placing it squarely in the mid-market against contemporaries such as the Studebaker and Chandler.

The Model 60 represented the mature apex of the Velie engineering program, combining electric ignition, hydraulic brakes, and balloon tires with the proprietary OHV six that had served the company since 1922. Production ran through the 1927 model year before the lineup shifted for the final 1928 season.