1922 Stanley Model 735B Touring
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 5-6, 2017
By the time World War I broke out, the electric starter had already been invented and applied on numerous gasoline-powered automobiles. This wonderful, ease-of-use invention, coupled with the efficiency and cost savings of gas cars, was bad news for steam cars.
Stanley’s first car went on sale in 1901. The last car they listed was in 1927 but only a few cars were built after 1925. The Model 735 was introduced in 1918 and the the following year it was split between A (four-passenger touring) and B (seven-passenger touring) models, though to be fair there were also C and D models offered off and on until the 735 returned to a single model in 1922.
The engine is a steam-powered (this car has been recently converted to use gasoline to heat the boiler, which makes it a little more user-friendly), 20 horsepower two-cylinder, which helped make the Model 735 one of the best-selling Stanleys in company history. Despite the increasing obsolescence of steam cars, over 1,700 Model 735s were built and this one is selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Update: Sold $36,300.