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.
[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.
This automobile-related article is a stub.