Tag Archives: 1907

Niclausse Landaulette

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1907 Niclausse Type S Landaulette by Binder

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Here’s another Niclausse. Like the one we featured a week ago, this car is coming out of the Mullin collection and was acquired by them in 2007 from the family of the original Spanish owners. It was the 247th car registered in Barcelona.

The Type S is powered by a 2.4-liter inline-four rated at 12/16 taxable horsepower. This is another Binder-bodied car. Potentially a double order for the original owning family, with this being the city car and the big tourer being for the country.

For a collection so well known for its extravagant coachbuilt French classics from the 1930s, the Niclausse – a pair of them at that – seems like such an unlikely thing to be shown side by side. But I guess if you have a line on two one-owner, unrestored almost-unheard-of brass-era cars, you grab them. This one has an estimate of $50,000-$75,000. Click here for more info.

Niclausse Tourer

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1907 Niclausse Type D Tourer by Binder

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

J. et A. Niclausse was the trading name for the car company started by Jules and Albert Niclausse in 1890. Thy were boilermakers and cars were sort of a side project produced in a separate factory. And the cars were not steam-powered, instead they were large gas-powered luxury cars.

Niclausse produced cars from 1906 through 1914. The Type D is powered by a 6.3-liter inline-four rated at 30/35 horsepower. It has rear drum brakes and a four-speed gearbox. The body was produced by Binder.

This example was sold new in Barcelona and remained with its original owning family until entered the Mullin collection in 2007 (alongside another Niclausse from the same family). The car has not been restored and will sell at no reserve with an estimate of $90,000-$120,000. More info can be found here.

Stanley Semi-Racer

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1907 Stanley Model K Semi-Racer

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Stanley Motor Carriage Company remains a well-known entity today due to their Stanley Steamer motorcars. The Stanley Brothers designed an early steam car and sold the rights to Locomobile. From their they ventured out onto their own. Their first cars were sold in 1901, and six short years later came this.

The Model K was one of seven models offered in 1907. It was only sold in this Semi-Racer body style, which was kind of like a steam-powered sports car for the time. Only 26 examples of the Semi-Racer were built over a few years. Most of the surviving cars, including this one, are “assembled” cars using some Stanley parts and a lot of re-created parts.

It’s essentially a recreation with some authentic parts. But for cars that are 110-years-old, it’s kind of the only way some of them can still exist. In 1907, this would’ve been a 25-horsepower car. In 2023, it’s an $80,000-$100,000 car. Click here for more info.

White Model G

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1907 White Model G Roi-des-Belges Touring

Offered by Gooding & Company | Lynchburg, Virginia | April 7, 2023

Photo – Gooding & Company

The White Motor Company is one of America’s most overlooked automobile manufacturers. Founded in 1900, they were an early proponent of steam power. In 1910 they introduced gasoline-powered cars, which is all they sold beginning in 1912. Passenger car production ended after 1918.

Yet, White soldiered on, remaining a fairly significant player in the commercial vehicle sector until 1980, at which time they were acquired by Volvo Trucks. White-GMC-branded trucks remained on sale through the 1990s.

As far as passenger cars go, early White steam cars are the most sought after. The Model G was one of two models offered in 1907, with this being the larger, more powerful version. The 2.6-liter twin-cylinder steam engine was rated at 30 horsepower. Three body styles were offered, with the least expensive being the touring at $3,500.

This car has known ownership history back to new and has been under current ownership since 2015. It was restored in 1949 (which is an insane sentence) and is one of four Model Gs known to exist. The estimate is $250,000-$350,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $324,000.

Northern Touring

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1907 Northern Type C Touring

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The Northern Manufacturing Company was founded by Charles King and Jonathan Maxwell, both of whom had previously worked for Oldsmobile. Their first cars, powered by singles, were sold in 1902. Twins followed in 1904, and four-cylinder cars would join the lineup in 1906.

The Type C was offered in 1906 and 1907 as the two-cylinder offering. The flat-twin here made 20 horsepower when new. This is a fairly large car for just two cylinders. They also built a five-passenger limousine in this model range, in addition to a runabout and another touring car.

Northern merged with the Wayne Automobile Company in 1908, and the combined company was quickly acquired by E-M-F. Maxwell had left in 1903 (to form Maxwell, which would become Chrysler), and King left after the acquisition and would form his own eponymous company. Studebaker would purchase E-M-F a few years later.

We’ve featured a few single-cylinder Northern runabouts before, but this is the first “big” Northern on this site. It should sell for between $21,000-$25,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $54,107.

Fortin-Jourdain

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1907 Fortin-Jourdain Runabout

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 28, 2022

Photo – Osenat

Fortin-Jourdain is a car that you will not find much information about. It’s not even mentioned in the grandest of automotive encyclopedias. What can be deduced, mainly from the catalog listing, is that Jules Fortin, a Frenchman born in 1856, was an electrician.

He partnered with his son-in-law, Charles Jourdain, to form Fortin-Jourdain. The company sold its first cars in between 1907 and 1909. It’s thought that as few as seven were built, and this is the only known survivor.

Power is from an inline-four sourced from Sultan-Lethimonnier, and the bodywork is sort of a small runabout/convertible with a pickup-y rear end. Hard to tell, as this is the only full-frame angle that Osenat has provided. So you know, bid blind. The pre-sale estimate is $21,000-$27,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $23,368.

Locomobile Model H

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1907 Locomobile Model H Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | May 20, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Locomobile was one of America’s premier automakers before WWI. And this was the type of vehicle that they excelled at: a big, powerful, touring car. The Model H was produced from 1905 through 1907 and was only available as a limousine or a touring car.

Power is from by a 35-horsepower, 5.7-liter inline-four. This car would’ve cost approximately $4,500 when new – the price of a house in most of America. The Model H was the larger of the two 1907 models, the 90-horsepower Special race car notwithstanding.

This car was purchased by Henry Austin Clark Jr. in the 1940s and remained in his collection until it (the collection) was broken up in the 1980s. During Clark’s ownership, it wore a pickup truck body and was the go-to vehicle for members of his staff. The body it wears now is an authentic period body that was mounted circa 1990.

Only one Model H Locomobile survives – this one. And the pickup body is included in the sale. The pre-sale estimate is $160,000-$200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $179,200.

1907 Darracq

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1907 Darracq 10/12HP Two-Seater

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | December 11, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

A Darracq et Cie was founded after Alexandre Darracq sold his Gladiator bicycle company to Adolphe Clement. His first factory was in France, but in 1902, he sold his French company to a new British company called A Darracq and Company Ltd. That’s right, he shifted his business to England to take advantage of some financial laws.

So the company was now British. Except that there were still French Darracqs, and they would eventually be produced under the Talbot-Darracq marque (the two Darracqs would split during WWI). We could go down this rabbit hole for the 15th time, instead, we’ll just point out that this appears to be a French-built car powered by a 10/12-horsepower inline-twin.

It’s a tiny little car that is said to require a good deal of work before becoming usable, although it does run. It’s expected to sell for $20,000-$27,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Cadillac Model K

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1907 Cadillac Model K Runabout

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 6-7, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Cadillac was founded in 1902, and by the 1930s they were known for their large V12 and V16-powered cars. But single-cylinders were an important part of their history. It was all they made until their first four went on sale in 1905. But at that time singles were still selling, so they stayed on through 1908.

The Model K was sold in 1906 and 1907, and in ’07 you could’ve had a $3,500 Runabout like this car, or a $3,700 Runabout with a Victoria top. Power is from a 1.6-liter single-cylinder that was advertised at 10 horsepower.

This one retains its original body and is said to be set up for touring. It should sell for between $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $53,200.

Renault Vanderbilt Racer

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1907 Renault Type AI 35/45HP Vanderbilt Racer

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 5, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

The Renault AI was one of the company’s large luxury cars and was offered between 1905 and 1910. They were powered by large 7.5-liter inline-fours that made about 65 horsepower. The fact that this big power rating came from one of France’s more storied early competition car-builders is probably why this car exists.

Willie K. Vanderbilt, yes, of that family, was a gearhead who started competing in races in the US and Europe about as early as you could. Around 1906, he asked Renault to build him a run of race cars based on their AI engine. He bought 10 of them for $150,000 and all had different coachwork. He sold most of them and kept one for himself.

The cars were successful racing in America, and this is one of five Vanderbilt racers that have survived. It was discovered in 1946 and went to the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum in 1957. Most of the other survivors are locked away in collections. Bonhams won’t even give an estimate on this car, but it’s a pretty incredible, useable survivor. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $3,332,500.