Velie Model 8-88 History

For the 1928 model year, Velie offered its most ambitious car: the 8-88, powered by a Lycoming straight-eight engine developing 90 hp on a 125-inch wheelbase. It sat alongside three six-cylinder models (the Standard 50, the 6-66, and the 6-77), but the 8-88 was the statement car — a direct bid for buyers seeking an upscale American eight.

The 8-88's Lycoming engine was sourced from an established supplier rather than built in-house, a pragmatic choice that let Velie enter the eight-cylinder market quickly. It represented the company's most significant upward price and prestige move in its two-decade history.

Willard Velie Sr. died of an embolism on October 24, 1928, before the 8-88 could establish itself in the market. His son Willard Jr. discontinued automobile production in January 1929, unable to sustain both the car line and the company's Mono Aircraft division. Willard Jr. himself died on March 20, 1929. The Velie factory was eventually acquired by John Deere & Company in 1937 — returning the enterprise, full circle, to its agricultural roots.