Tag Archives: 1910

McIntyre Runabout

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1910 McIntyre Model B-1 Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 8, 2012

Auburn, Indiana was one of the early meccas of automobile manufacturing. The W.H. McIntyre Company was founded in 1909 on the heels of Mr. McIntyre’s purchase of the W.H. Kiblinger Company, also of Auburn. (I can’t be the only one to find it odd that the two men who founded these companies had the same first two initials, can I?)

McIntyre was the factory manager at Kiblinger and bought the company out when it was faced with a company-ending patent infringement lawsuit. He changed the name of the company and the design of the car – at least enough so that the lawyers went away.

But it was still, like the Kiblinger, a high-wheeler – a car with big solid-state wagon wheels and enough ground clearance to function in even the most remote sections of the new automobile marketplace. This car has a 14 horsepower flat-twin and a two-speed transmission with chain drive. 1910 was the last year for high-wheelers from McIntyre, although the company soldiered on through 1915.

This one is expected to sell for between $20,000-$30,000. For more information, click here. And for more from Bonhams at the Simeone Foundation, click here.

Update: Sold $37,950.

1910 Le Zèbre

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1910 Le Zèbre Type A

For sale at Oldtimer Galerie International | Toffen, Switzerland

If this thing looks small, that’s because it is. It almost looks like one of those old cars they have at amusement parks – those kind of 2/3-scale Ford Model Ts. But this looks even smaller – you could fit at least five people in an antique car ride car. And this only has a single cylinder.

Le Zèbre started building cars in 1909 – and they started with single-cylinder engines making a whopping five horsepower. This one displaces 636cc and power reached the rear wheels via shaft drive and a two-speed (all forward) transmission. The cars were popular upon release.

In 1912, a four-cylinder model was added. In 1917, the two founders split up, with Jules Solomon, the driving force behind the company, leaving. In 1924 a new model was introduced, the Type Z. Perhaps this was not the best possible name, because it spelled the downfall of the firm. If you’re going to start it off with a “Type A,” then the “Type Z” seems like a logical conclusion to your business. Poor planning? Or just a shifting market toward bigger, more powerful cars? Probably the latter – Le Zebre closed up shop in 1932.

This car is currently for sale in Toffen, Switzerland, although I suspect it could appear at a forthcoming auction from the company. The price? $35,600. For more information, click here.

1910 Gladiator

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1910 Gladiator 12/14hp Type P Series 51 Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Hendon, U.K. | April 30, 2912

The Gladiator Cycle Company was founded in 1891 by Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq. From here the history of the marque becomes complicated: in 1896 Darracq sold the company to a group of Britons including Harvey du Cros. Darracq then went on to found the automobile company that bore his name. Meanwhile, Gladiator merged with Clément Cycles – which was founded by Adolphe Clément. The Clément-Gladiator company built it’s first car in 1896. In 1903, Adolphe Clément resigned to start Clément-Bayard and build cars of his own.

Gladiator produced cars under the name “Gladiator,” as well as “Clément,” simultaneously.  At the same time, Adolphe Clément began selling his new, French-built Clément-Bayards in England under the name Clément-Talbot. There were other Clément-dash-somethings as well, but we won’t go into them now.

The car featured here is a 12/14hp Type P and it features a four-cylinder engine and a four/five seat coachbuilt body by Fred W. Baker Ltd of Stourbridge. It looks nice and has a detailed ownership history. There were so many automobile marques that didn’t last too terribly long and I find them all pretty interesting. Quite a few still have examples extant, while countless marques have been lost to time. The Gladiator marque ceased production in 1920.

The pre-sale estimate is $40,000-$48,000. For the complete catalog description, click here and to see the rest of Bonhams offerings for the RAF Museum in Hendon, click here.

Update: Did not sell.