Lets Get Small: The Arbet

The Arbet has the distinction of being the smallest car ever registered in the United States, as confirmed by the 1993-97 Guiness Book of World Records. It was built by skilled machinist Arliss Sluder. The Arbet measured just 88 ½” long, 40” wide, 38 ½” tall, and weighed in at a few pounds over half a ton. The little car was powered by a 13hp Onan 2-cylinder engine that delivered a 45mph top speed and 50mpg economy. It appears that the engine was one just a handful of the car’s 5000 components that Mr. Sluder did not fabricate himself. That is likely why a project that started just after the war was not completed until 1956. Arliss came up with the Arbet’s name by combining his wife Beth’s name with his own, possibly in acknowledgement to her for letting his project take over her garage for 10 years.