The 1936 Stout Scarab is widely recognized as the world’s first production minivan, born from the vision of aviation engineer William Bushnell Stout. Rejecting the standard separate chassis and front engine of the era, the Scarab used a revolutionary unitized aluminum body and placed a Ford V8 engine in the rear. This advanced design created a low, flat floor, maximizing interior space for what Stout called a “traveling office on wheels.” Its highly flexible cabin featured seats that could swivel and a removable table. Although the streamlined, beetle-like Art Deco styling was profoundly innovative, the high $5,000 price tag and unconventional looks limited production to just nine hand-built examples, confirming the Scarab was truly ahead of its time.