# Clown car

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Circus routine

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Lou Jacobs miniature clown car (1951–1952) with gas pump

A **clown car** is a prop in a common [circus clown](/source/Circus_clown) routine, which involves a large number of [clowns](/source/Clown) emerging from a small car. The first performance of this routine was in the [Cole Bros. Circus](/source/Cole_Bros._Circus) during the 1950s.[1] The effect is usually produced by removing all of a car's internal components like door panels, [headliners](/source/Headliner_(material)), engines, seats, and any interior barrier to the trunk, and then filling the enlarged space with as many clowns as possible.[2] [Greg DeSanto](/source/Greg_DeSanto) of the [International Clown Hall of Fame](/source/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.[2]

## See also

- [Clown bicycle](/source/Clown_bicycle)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Feiler, Bruce](/source/Bruce_Feiler) (2003). *Under the Big Top*. [HarperCollins](/source/HarperCollins). p. 71. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-06-052702-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-06-052702-0).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Car-and-Driver_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Car-and-Driver_2-1) Huffman, John Pearley (March 28, 2011). ["The Physics Of: Clown Cars"](https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15125743/the-physics-of-clown-cars-feature/). *[Car and Driver](/source/Car_and_Driver)*. Retrieved November 10, 2018.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Clown cars](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Clown_cars).

- Dumas, Zoe (26 June 2024). ["How Do Clown Cars Work? Pile In—We'll Explain"](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/how-do-clown-cars-work-77420/). *[Backstage](/source/Backstage_(publication))*. Retrieved 2025-11-15.

- ["Clown car Definition & Meaning"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clown%20car). *[Merriam-Webster](/source/Merriam-Webster)*. Retrieved 2025-11-15.

v t e Clowns List of clowns / List of jesters Types Blackface Bouffon Canadian Chou Circus Contemporary Evil Harlequin Harlequinade Heyoka Jester Mime Pierrot Pueblo Ritual Rodeo Scaramouche Silly Billy Skomorokh Organizations Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army Clown Conservatory Clowns of America International Clowns Gallery-Museum International Clown Hall of Fame Loldiers of Odin Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College World Clown Association World Festival of Clowns in Yekaterinburg Related 2016 clown sightings Clown alley Clown bicycle Clown car Clown Care Clown ministry Clown society Coulrophilia International Clown Week Motley Toronto circus riot Documentaries The Clowns (1970) Category

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Clown car](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clown_car) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clown_car?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.