1914 Thomas Flyer Model K 6-90 Flyabout

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 5-6, 2022

E.R. Thomas‘s automobile company got off to a modest start in 1902. But it only took about five years for them to make quite a name for themselves by winning the 1908 New York to Paris Race with an ’07 Model 35.

Their cars were some of the nicest you could buy in the U.S. prior to WWI. The Model K 6-70 was introduced in 1908 and featured a 140″ wheelbase and a preposterous 12.8-liter inline-six. That car made 70 horsepower. If that was not enough, you could order, as a factory option, an increased cylinder bore that would up the displacement and also the power – to 88 horsepower.

Thomas actually ran out of money in 1912, and after that they sold the Model K chassis for truck use, which is how this car was initially configured. Used as a fire truck by a few cities, it was eventually spotted and purchased by Bill Harrah in 1959. It would be one of nine Thomas cars he owned (including the New York-Paris race winner). It wasn’t until its next owner in the 1980s that the car was rebodied in Flyabout fashion.

Only about 500 Model K 6-70/90 cars were built in total, and only 10 are known to exist. This one has an interesting history, which you can read more about here.

Update: Sold $594,000.