This 1962 Bug Scorpion Go-Kart is fitted with two engines, both 134cc (8.2 cubic inch) West Bend 820 two-stroke singles, giving the kart a total displacement of 268ccs – more than enough to get you onto the leaderboard at the local kart track.
Bug Engineering began manufacturing go karts back in 1958, the company was founded by Faye “Lady Bug” and her husband Tom Pierson. The company was later renamed K&P Engineering, it would go on to become the world’s oldest kart manufacturer.
Fast Facts – The Bug Scorpion Go-Kart
- Bug Engineering was a go kart manufacturer founded in 1958 by Faye and Tom Pierson. The company was later renamed to K&P Engineering (Karts & Parts), it grew to become one of the biggest kart manufacturers in the world, at one point producing 320 karts each day.
- The impetus for the creation of Bug Engineering occurred on Christmas Day 1957. The Pierson’s neighbor had bought their son a go kart and the Piersons assisted in its assembly. They took turns driving it, which is when Faye and Tom fell in love with karting.
- Faye proved a highly skilled kart driver despite her lack of training or previous experience. At the first national kart races held in the summer of 1959 she would set the fastest time in the A Class qualifying – beating the track record by a full second.
- K&P Engineering remained in business until 2014, they had become the world’s oldest kart manufacturer and a legend in the sport.
Bug Engineering
As the story goes, Bug Engineering was named almost by accident. Company founders Faye and Tom Pierson had been struggling to find a suitable name for their new go kart manufacturing venture but nothing seemed to fit. In a fit of frustration Faye said that it was really bugging her, the two laughed and settled on using Bug as the company name.
This undated photograph shows Faye “Lady Bug” Pierson piloting one of her own karts. She became one of the best female kart racers in the country, a natural talent she joked was developed in her previous job of delivering newspapers by van.
Faye and Tom grew their company rapidly, it was soon renamed K&P Engineering however many would always refer to it by its original name. Karting took off in popularity in the 1960s and no company was better positioned to take advantage of it.
K&P grew into a large purpose-built factory, they were manufacturing a slew of models, and karts built by them won countless races and championships over the decades.
A report in the 1960s noted that the company was manufacturing 320 karts per day, an astonishing number that would place them among the largest kart manufacturers in the world, if not the largest outright.
The company remained a major force in the American karting world for decades. Sadly Tom would pass away in 2000, Faye kept running the company with the help of her sons Tommy and Jon until 2014.
The Twin-Engined Bug Scorpion Go-Kart Shown Here
The kart you see here is a little more special than most, and it would be notably quicker than many of its peers from the 1960s thanks to the dual motor set up in the rear.
This Bug Scorpion Go Kart with its unusual twin-motor set up was restored in 2021.
Whereas almost all karts use a single rear engine, typically powering the rear axle via a chain final drive, this example has twin motors powering the rear axle.
Each of the two engines is an essentially identical 134cc (8.2 cubic inch) West Bend 820 two-stroke single-cylinder unit, as mentioned earlier on the total displacement is 268cc which is nothing to sniff at in such a small and lightweight vehicle – particularly when talking about two-strokes.
The engines both have polished aluminum shrouds, chain guards, starter cups, GEM headers, and intake manifolds, Tillotson carburetors, and Max Torque clutches.
Slowing down is accomplished with a single Airheart disc brake, it’s fitted with a 5-quart seat-back fuel tank, and it has 4″ and 6″ cast-aluminum wheels.
This Bug Scorpion was restored in 2021 and now presents in good condition throughout. If you’d like to read more about this unusual vintage kart or place a bid you can visit the listing on Bring A Trailer here. It’s being offered for sale out of Roswell, Georgia.
Images courtesy of Bring A Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
