A clown car is a prop in a common circus clown routine, which involves a large number of clowns emerging from a small car. The first performance of this routine was in the 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, engines, seats, and any interior barrier to the trunk, and then filling the enlarged space with as many clowns as possible.[2] Greg DeSanto of the 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]
. Bruce Feiler . Under the Big Top . HarperCollins . 2003 . 978-0-06-052702-0 . 71.