Aviation · United States · Former owner · not current ownership

Amelia Earhart

1923 Kissel Speedster Model 45 “Goldbug” · “Yellow Peril”

Yellow-and-black 1923 Kissel Model 45 Goldbug formerly owned by Amelia Earhart, displayed with an Earhart figure in the Forney Museum in 2012.
Earhart’s actual 1923 Kissel Model 45 “Goldbug” in the Forney Museum’s Denver exhibit on August 16, 2012. The photograph documents that later museum presentation, not the car’s precise 1924 configuration.Photo: Piotrus · CC BY-SA 3.0.
Photo details

Joyride serves the 3,264 × 2,448 Commons original JPEG byte-for-byte. No crop, resize, retouching, metadata removal, generation or vehicle reconstruction; a responsive frame may crop displayed edges.

Amelia Earhart seated in the cockpit of an Electra in 1937.
Amelia Earhart1937 · Identification portraitAcme Newspictures · Public domain in the United States.
Photo details

Joyride serves the current 937 × 740 Commons JPEG byte-for-byte. No crop, resize, retouching or generation; a responsive frame may crop displayed edges. This shared identification portrait remains separate from both individual-car stories.

The Yellow Peril took the long way east

Connection
Former owner · not current ownership
When
Owned 1924–1929 · 7,000-mile Los Angeles–Boston journey beginning May 1924 · Forney Museum acquisition 1961
Identity
Individual 1923 Kissel Speedster Model 45 Goldbug · Earhart’s “Kizzle” / “Yellow Peril” · no chassis or serial number claimed

The Forney Museum of Transportation identifies this individual 1923 Kissel Speedster Model 45 Goldbug as Amelia Earhart’s car from 1924 through 1929. Earhart called it “Kizzle” and later the “Yellow Peril.” This is a documented former-ownership story, not a claim that Earhart owns the surviving car now.

In May 1924, Earhart and her mother left Los Angeles for Boston rather than take the train. Forney records a six-week, roughly 7,000-mile route through Sequoia, Yosemite, Lake Louise and Banff, then across Canada. Tourist stickers accumulated on the bright yellow roadster during the trip; Earhart later wrote that its cheerful canary color attracted more attention outside California.

Forney purchased the Kissel in 1961. Piotrus photographed the yellow-and-black Model 45 inside the Denver museum on August 16, 2012 and licensed the original CC BY-SA 3.0. The museum record, file description and visible Earhart exhibit treatment bind the photograph to the actual car rather than a generic Kissel. The image records a 2012 museum presentation, not untouched 1924 condition or current exhibition.

Documented custody

Where the car went next

  1. May–June 1924Los Angeles to Boston by the long route

    Earhart and her mother drove about 7,000 miles in six weeks through California parks, western Canada and across the continent.

  2. 1924–1929The Kizzle years

    Forney records Earhart’s ownership during this period and her nicknames “Kizzle” and “Yellow Peril.” Joyride does not extend her ownership beyond 1929.

  3. 1961Forney Museum acquisition

    The museum says it purchased Earhart’s individual Kissel in 1961; the reviewed record does not supply the intervening custody chain.

  4. August 16, 2012The survivor photographed in Denver

    Piotrus photographed the Model 45 in the Denver museum’s Earhart exhibit and released the original under CC BY-SA 3.0. This dated image is not a current-display claim.

Follow the evidence

Sources for this story

Forney identifies the 1923 Model 45 Goldbug it acquired in 1961 as Earhart’s 1924–1929 car, records its 7,000-mile 1924 journey and supplies the contextual six-cylinder, 41-horsepower specification. The Commons file identifies a Model 45 Goldbug photographed in the Denver museum; the museum setting and Earhart exhibit presentation support exact-car identity. No chassis or serial number, complete custody chain, restoration history, untouched condition, present display, current private owner, exact Joyride catalog link or game compatibility is claimed.

  • Amelia EarhartForney Museum of Transportation · Museum collection record · reviewed October 11, 2026 · external source

    Exact 1923 Kissel Speedster Model 45 identity; Earhart’s 1924–1929 ownership; Kizzle and Yellow Peril nicknames; six-cylinder, 41-horsepower description; 7,000-mile 1924 journey; and museum acquisition in 1961.

  • Denver transport museum 021.JPGWikimedia Commons · Photographed August 16, 2012 · reviewed October 11, 2026 · external source

    Model 45 Goldbug description, Denver museum setting, capture date, original bytes, photographer credit and CC BY-SA 3.0 reuse terms.

Reviewed

Why this is the actual car
  • Photo identity evidence

    Forney identifies its 1923 Kissel Speedster Model 45 Goldbug as Earhart’s 1924–1929 car and says the museum purchased it in 1961.

  • Photo identity evidence

    Piotrus identifies the August 16, 2012 photograph as a 1923 Kissel Model 45 Goldbug in the Denver transport museum and licenses the original CC BY-SA 3.0.

The matching photographer, venue, date and vehicle history establish the identification; the chassis stamp is not visible in these photographs.