1913 Warne 8

Offered by Coys | Graz, Austria | October 12-13, 2013

I love it when fine examples of short-lived automobile manufacturers survive for 100 years. This Warne 8 cyclecar is 100 years old. The company, Pearsall-Warne Ltd, was founded in Letchworth in 1913. It only lasted through 1915.

Light cars were all the rage in that day. A lot of companies popped up and built cars of varying quality with varying success. Warne may not have had a lot of success, but they had quality down. The engine is an eight horsepower 1.0-liter V-twin from J.A.P. and the price was a crazy-low-sounding £99!

The car is simple, yes, but it does have a convertible top, lights and it is belt-driven (for weight reasons). I don’t know how many were made in total, but it is said the company built six of them a week. This is car #57. You can read more here and check out more from Coys here.

Update: Sold for about $10,800.