Yes, Chrysler tried four-wheel disc brakes in 1949 (but they weren’t what you thought) – Jalopnik

In the early days of the automobile, there weren’t really any prescribed ways of doing things as they are today. Automakers regularly experimented with a variety of new technologies to gain a competitive advantage, both for the road customer and the race track. In 1949, Chrysler debuted a unique method of slowing down its big stately machines: a new form of disc brakes. Now disc brakes were relatively new technology in 1949 and debuted on aircraft during World War II. Crosley adapted the aircraft brakes somewhat poorly for the small HotShot sports car, but they were not yet ready for the rigors of automotive use and the plan was scrapped almost as quickly as it began. Chrysler, meanwhile, took a different approach with its braking system, developing a new style of brake pads that look more like a clutch disc, extended between two rotating iron friction surfaces. This is completely different and also distinctive from Porsche’s unique annular disc brakes.

The system Chrysler used was developed by Automotive Specialties Manufacturing Company (AUSCO) under patents filed by engineer Homer L. Lambert, and first tested by the company as early as 1939. Considered a self-energizing system, in that it used some of the braking energy to increase braking force, this Ausco-Lambert setup provided better braking in the full-size Chryslers with minimal driver effort. This system also reduced brake fade, lower operating temperatures, and utilized a much larger friction surface compared to Chrysler’s then-standard twelve-inch drum brakes. Although the brakes provided significantly better stopping power and could be counted on for repeated use, they ultimately cost significantly more than drum or caliper-and-disc brakes while being grabby and overly sensitive.

Until 1954, the so-called double disc brake system was only available as standard from Chrysler on the extended Crown Imperial limousine, and on the one-year limited production of 700 examples of the 1950 Town and Country Newport. The system was made optional on other Chrysler machines, but at an exorbitant price tag of $400, or about $5,400 in 2026 dollars when adjusted for inflation. It’s safe to say that very few customers took up the offer.

It would be another few years before Jaguar and Dunlop finally perfected the disc brake for automotive use, using a prototype system to win the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Tony Ralt and Duncan Hamilton sharing driving duties of the #18 C-type. The rest, as they say, is history.