Eldredge

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1903 Eldredge 8HP Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

Bonhams’ London-to-Brighton sale is always full of interesting veteran cars – but most of them are usually European. But here we have an interesting American automobile. The National Sewing Machine Company began building bicycles in 1894 and followed it with cars from 1903 to 1906. The Eldredge name comes from the president of the sewing machine company that was based in Belvidere, Illinois.

This wonderfully brassy runabout is similar to others of the day with one major exception: it has a steering wheel on the left-hand side of the car. The first few Eldredges had tiller steering but the company became one of the first to feature LHD steering wheels. It’s kind of amazing to think today that this was something that someone actually had to be the first to do.

The engine is an eight horsepower flat-twin. This was the only body style that Eldredge ever offered and about 600 were sold over four years. This is one of three examples from the marque that are known to exist and it has known history going back to the 1960s. It should bring between $60,000-$73,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Schaudel Tonneau

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1901 Schaudel 10HP Twin-Cylinder Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

Charles Schaudel’s little French car company lasted a very brief time. He built his first car in 1900 and by 1902 he had sold out to his brother-in-law, who changed the name of the company to Motobloc (which lasted until 1931).

The engine is a 10 horsepower two-cylinder unit that is mounted transversely (and, with its gearbox configuration, it is noted in the catalog that this car sports the same drivetrain layout as the original Mini). The engine was rebuilt in 2016 after taking part in 12 London-to-Brighton runs, which means it is fresh and ready to go this year.

Only two Schaudel-branded automobiles are known to exist and this one has appeared on British television on multiple occasions. This is a pretty awesome find from a really obscure company. There’s really no reason something made in such limited numbers should still exist, but we’re sure glad it does. This one should bring between $170,000-$210,000 at auction. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $192,834.

Update: Sold, Bonhams London-to-Brighton 2018, $156,891.

1902 Ader

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1902 Ader Twin-Cylinder V-Twin Four-Seater

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

France really was at the center of the early days of the automobile industry. While the U.S. and the U.K. also produced many different brands of cars, France had the first giants. While Clément Ader’s may not have been a giant, it did produce a range of vehicles between 1900 an 1907.

The first Ader’s were powered by the 904cc V-twin engine that this car likely shares (Ader offered a 1.6-liter V-twin as well). Ader also built four-cylinder cars and even an early V-8. This sort of technical prowess is understandable from a guy who set up the Parisian telephone system and designed a steam-powered airplane.

This example was discovered in the 1960s, rescued, and restored. The current owner acquired the car from the rescuer and “refurbished” it again. The body is not original, but it is period-correct. Ready to run, this Ader carries a pre-sale estimate of $110,000-$130,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $117,221.

Calthorpe Drophead Coupe

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1923 Calthorpe 10-15 Drophead Coupe by Mulliner

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | October 25, 2017

Photo – Brightwells

Founded in Birmingham in 1904, the Calthorpe Motor Company produced cars until about 1928. You’d think, having existed for over 20 years, we would have featured an example from this marque before, but we haven’t (more on that in a bit).

In 1917, Calthorpe acquired Mulliner, the famed coachbuilder of Bentleys and such. When Calthorpe failed in 1924, Mulliner was spun off and survived. Guess who built the body for this car. That’s right, Mulliner! It’s powered by a 1.3-liter straight-four making 10 horsepower. Only two models were offered in 1923 and this was the baby of the two. The 10-15 was available from 1922 through 1926.

Restored in the 1980s, this is believed to be one of about 10-12 Calthorpes that still exist even though they built roughly 5,000 cars after WWI (so no wonder we haven’t featured one: they never come up for sale). This is an affordable British classic rarer than just about everything else at its price point. It should bring between $15,600-$18,300. Click here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $27,569.

1898 Germain

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1898 Germain 6HP Twin-Cylinder Open Drive Limousine

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

We’ve featured an impressive amount of pre-1900 automobiles on this site and this car looks many years newer than some of them. Ateliers Germain was founded in 1897 in the Belgian town on Monceau-sur-Sambre. They specialized in building other cars under license, such as those from Renault and Panhard et Levassor.

This car is similar to a Panhard of the day, which isn’t surprising as Germain was one of a few Belgian companies who bought some early cars (among them, a Panhard) to study them in order to launch Belgium’s own automobile industry. This car was the company’s prototype and it’s powered by a six horsepower, two-cylinder engine.

They stopped building cars after WWI and turned to railcars. They merged into another company in the 1960s and ceased to exist thereafter. But until they became defunct, they managed to hang on to this car, their first. It’s first owner acquired it in 1964 and the current owner bought it about 20 years ago. Restored as needed over time, this car is a miraculous survivor. It should bring between $200,000-$290,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $295,610.

October 2017 Auction Highlights

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Welcome to October, though we’re starting in September with Mecum’s Louisville sale. We didn’t get to feature anything from this one, but this 1968 Shelby GT500 was the top sale, bringing $90,500. Click here to see what else sold.

Photo – Mecum

Onward to Bonhams’ sale at the Simeone Foundation in Philadelphia. This is always a good one, and their top sale here was $1,001,000 paid for this 1913 Rolls-Royce 40/50HP Silver Ghost London-to-Edinburgh Sports Tourer by Reuters.

Photo – Bonhams

We featured a number of cars from this sale and some of those failed to sell, including this Stearns-Knight, the Mobile Steam car, and a previously-featured Humber. The Stoddard-Dayton Raceabout sold for $106,700 and the 1917 Mack C-Cab truck was a steal at $8,800 (because that’s probably about what the paint on it cost). Click here for everything else.

RM Sotheby’s was also in Pennsylvania in October, in Hershey to be exact. Sadly the most interesting car of the entire auction, the Gasmobile, was withdrawn (as was the Derby). The top sale was this 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow for $2,310,000.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Some big dollar feature cars included the Belgian-bodied Duesenberg for $1,485,000, the other Duesenberg for $549,000, the White Yellowstone Bus for $165,000, and the Stearns-Knight Touring for $132,000.

Other feature cars that sold included a pair of Stanleys, with the older one bringing $55,000 and the newer one $36,300. The Moon Roadster sold for $66,000. The Apperson Touring sold for $24,750 and the Sears Motor Buggy $35,200. Click here for complete results.

How about some results from Coys? This 1926 Bugatti Type 37 was the top seller at their Blenheim Palace sale back in July. It brought about $968,950. We didn’t feature anything from this sale but you can see more from it here.

Photo – Coys

Finally, Motostalgia’s McPherson Collection sale in Texas. We featured a Zimmer Quicksilver that ended up selling for $15,400. The top sale was this 1958 Facel Vega FVS Series 4 for $190,000. Click here for complete results.

Photo – Motostalgia

Daley Quadricycle

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1898 Daley Quadricycle

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

M.H. Daley, who owned a company that manufactured farm equipment, was responsible for one of America’s earliest automobile manufacturers. Founded in Charles City, Iowa, in 1895, the little company lasted only through 1898. His first car used an engine he designed himself.

It’s unknown how many cars Daley built (there were at least three and he did plan to market them for $500 a pop, though it’s unlikely this ever occurred), but this is the only one left. It’s powered by a 700cc twin-cylinder engine that gets a supposed 100 mpg. Good luck spending 100 miles in this thing trying to achieve that figure.

This car used to compete in the London-to-Brighton run back in the 80s before it was put on museum duty. The current owner acquired it back in 2011 and has had the engine rebuilt. That means it’s about ready to run in upcoming events. As a very rare pioneer American automobile, this car should bring between $46,000-$59,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $39,196.

Autovia Saloon by Mulliner

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1937 Autovia Saloon by Mulliner

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | October 25, 2017

Photo – Brightwells

It took me a while to figure out it, but no, the picture is not blurry – it’s the paint on the car. It’s not a bad thing, this car has serious patina. And you won’t find a better one anywhere on the market, because this is the only Autovia on the market. It’s only the second one to come up for sale since 2013.

Autovia was founded in 1935 as a subsidiary of Riley. It was created to build fancy cars to compete with the other big British names of the day. This car sports a four-door body from Mulliner, one of the preferred coachbuilders for Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much room for another luxury marque in Britain during the 1930s. Riley went bankrupt and was absorbed by another company and Autovia was dissolved in 1938, after barely a year of production.

Autovias are powered by a 99 horsepower, 2.9-liter V-8. This example cost £975 when new and Autovia only built 44 cars in total. Only 11 still survive today. This one is all-original and has only covered 1,000 miles since the end of WWII. It should bring between $110,000-$135,000. Click here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $98,463.

Westfield

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1902 Westfield 13HP Model G Four-Seat Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

Founded in Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1901 by Charles Moore, Westfield did not produce cars for very long and, in fact, never really sold any gas powered cars at all, even though this car is actually gas powered. Their first cars were steam powered but he also sold cars with a chassis and body, but no engine.

Giving owners the ability to choose their own engines for their cars would lead to some pretty outlandish automobiles today, but in 1902 pickings were slim and this car features a 2.5-liter two-cylinder engine making 13 horsepower – enough power to get this thing up to around 50 mph. It was built by a small engine building company called Remington.

Westfield folded in 1903, having lasted just three short years. Restored in the 1990s, the car spent most of its life in the U.S., with much of the late 1990s and early 2000s touring the show circuit there. It came to the U.K. in 2006 where it has continued to be shown (and toured). You’re unlikely to find another car from this marque and this one, which is quite usable, should bring between $260,000-$330,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $376,362.

Clement-Panhard

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1900 Clement-Panhard 4½HP Type VCP Voiture Légère Vis-a-Vis

Offered by Bonhams | Los Angeles, California | November 11, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

There have been so many great pre-1905 cars for sale lately! This car is from the mini-empire of marques featuring Adolphe Clément’s name. Clement was on the board at Panhard et Levassor and when the company’s factory was found to not be adequate enough to build a run of a 4.5hp “dog carts” that were designed by Arthur Krebs, Clement set up his own concern to build them.

Clement-Panhards were available between 1898 and about 1900. They featured a rear-mounted single-cylinder engine that made 4.5 horsepower and drove the rear wheels through an exposed-gear transmission. The three headlights and center-pivot steering give it an unusual face that only its mother could love.

In the U.K., these were called Clement-Stirlings or Stirling-Panhards. Only about 500 were built and body styles differed wildly from chassis to chassis. This car has two bench seats that face each other, which was a weird fad among early cars. This one hasn’t been used in a while but it was well kept for the last many decades. It should sell for between $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $60,500.