{{Short description|Circus routine}} {{refimprove|date=May 2024}} [[File:Lou Jacobs miniature clown car and gas pump, 1951-1952, wood, metal, paint - Circus Museum - John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art - Sarasota, FL - DSC00458.jpg|thumb|Lou Jacobs miniature clown car (1951–1952) with gas pump]] A '''clown car''' is a prop in a common [[circus clown]] routine, which involves a large number of [[clown]]s emerging from a small car. The first performance of this routine was in the [[Cole Bros. Circus]] during the 1950s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Feiler |first=Bruce |author-link=Bruce Feiler |title=Under the Big Top |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-06-052702-0 |page=71}}</ref> The effect is usually produced by removing all of a car's internal components like door panels, [[Headliner (material)|headliners]], engines, seats, and any interior barrier to the trunk, and then filling the enlarged space with as many clowns as possible.<ref name="Car-and-Driver">{{cite web |url=https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15125743/the-physics-of-clown-cars-feature/ |title=The Physics Of: Clown Cars |first=John Pearley |last=Huffman |website=[[Car and Driver]] |date=March 28, 2011 |access-date=November 10, 2018}}</ref> [[Greg DeSanto]] of the [[International Clown Hall of Fame]] estimates that somewhere between 14 and 21 clowns and their props could fit into a car prepared in this manner.<ref name="Car-and-Driver"/>
==See also== * [[Clown bicycle]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commonscat}} * {{cite web |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/how-do-clown-cars-work-77420/ |title=How Do Clown Cars Work? Pile In—We’ll Explain |date=26 June 2024 |first=Zoe |last=Dumas |work=[[Backstage (publication)|Backstage]] |access-date=2025-11-15}} * {{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clown%20car |title=Clown car Definition & Meaning |work=[[Merriam-Webster]] |access-date=2025-11-15}}
{{Clowns}}
[[Category:Circus equipment]] [[Category:Clowning]]
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