Tag Archives: 1911

1911 Stanley

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1911 Stanley Model 63 Toy Tonneau

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 8-9, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

It’s everyone’s favorite steam car – the Stanley steamer. The company’s 1911 range was robust, with the Model 63 being one of two 10 horsepower models offered. It was available only in this body style with seating for five.

It is powered by a two-cylinder steam engine making 10 horsepower. The 60-Series cars from Stanley were in production from 1910 through 1913. In all, 1,165 were built with 219 of those being the Toy Tonneau. Steam cars aren’t everyone’s thing as they take special dedication and know-how to operate. But those that love them really love them. This car sort of defines early steam motoring and it has been fully restored. Check out more info here.

Update: Sold $115,500.

Oldsmobile Autocrat

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1911 Oldsmobile Autocrat

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 8-9, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The Oldsmobile Autocrat was Oldsmobile’s mid-range model for 1911. At the bottom was the Special, but significantly upward was the Autocrat, which was second only to the legendary Oldsmobile Limited.

This Autocrat was originally fitted with four-door Tourabout body work but its original (and long time) owner, John Henry Greenway Albert, fitted his own custom boattail aluminium body – which is what you see here. Albert owned the car from 1911 until 1968. He drove the car – a lot, racing it on the East Coast and driving it back home out west – even years after more sophisticated cars had come onto the market.

It is powered by a monstrous 40 horsepower 8.2-liter straight-four. The Autocrat was only built in 1911 and 1912. This example is an absolute driver, having been driven thousands of miles on tours and vintage races in the hands of its more recent owners. It’s been driven so much that it’s been restored three times. And it’s a looker too – kind of resembling something that, while a little more road-friendly, you may have seen at Indy in the early days. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Sold $698,500.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2017, $605,000.

Isotta-Fraschini Tipo PM

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1911 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo PM Roadster by Pavesi & Crespi

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, England | June 26, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Isotta-Fraschini got their start selling Renaults in Italy but quickly dropped the French line in favor of their own – which sprouted and grew quickly. By the 1920s and 30s, they were some of the most desirable cars in the world.

But even their earlier models were well sought after, too. Prior to WWI, the company offered a huge range of models, among them the Tipo PM you see here. It is powered by a 6.0-liter straight-four. It was built for two years only – 1911 and 1912. Only 60 were constructed and only three remain.

The restoration was completed in 2012 and the body is by Carrozzeria Pavesi & Crespi of Milan, a short-lived and not very well known coach builder that went bust shortly after this two-seat roadster was completed. This car should sell for between $540,000-$730,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $547,929.

Mercer Toy Tonneau

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1911 Mercer Type 35 Toy Tonneau

Offered by Dragone Auctions | Greenwich, Connecticut | May 30, 2015

Photo - Dragone Auctions

Photo – Dragone Auctions

We’ve featured a 1911 Mercer Type 35 before – but it was a Raceabout, one of the earliest sporting cars built by any company anywhere. This is the slightly more practical Toy Tonneau style of the same model.

Mercer started building cars in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1910. The 1911 model lineup offered two choices, the Type 30 or the Type 35. This is the latter and it uses a 60 horsepower straight-four.

The Raceabout has always been collectible, the Toy Tonneau less so, although this car was restored to as-new condition in 1960. The restoration was so good that it has held up for nearly 60 years. It’s a great car and would be a welcome addition for collectors of all types. It should bring about $1,500,000-$1,800,000 – less than a Raceabout, but then it is the only 60HP Mercer Toy Tonneau known to exist. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

1911 EMF Race Car

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1911 EMF Model 30 Two-Seat Racer

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 12, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

This is a race car that was built the same year the first Indianapolis 500 was held. It didn’t race there, but it looks just like the cars that did. These were stripped down versions of road cars with two seats and light body work.

EMF was the abbreviation of Everitt-Metzger-Flanders – three men who had been around the booming auto industry for years. They built cars together for a few years between 1908 and 1912. Studebaker acquired them and shut them down because their quality wasn’t exactly great.

This car was entered in the 1911 Tiedeman Trophy Race in Savannah, Georgia. It was a big event – bigger than that new event held way back in Indiana. EMF entered three cars in the race and they finished 1-2-3. This car was driven by Jack Tower, who would race at Indy twice (in 1911 and 1913).

It is powered by a straight-four that makes 30 horsepower. It was discovered by the current owned in the 1970s and was restored then and restored again in the 2000s. It is the only surviving EMF racing car and it is thought to be the only surviving car that competed in the Tiedeman Trophy Race.

Pre-WWI race cars are extremely rare but they are incredible machines. This car has never been offered for public sale before. Now’s your chance if you have between $150,000-$200,000. to spend. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ lineup.

Update: Sold $242,000.

1911 Talbot Tourer

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1911 Talbot Type M 15HP Roi-des-Belges Tourer

Offered by H&H Auctions | Droitwich Spa, England | December 3, 2014

Photo - H&H Auctions

Photo – H&H Auctions

This is a very big, very attractive old tourer from the British Talbot. Talbot began producing cars of their own design in 1906, having been assembling and selling French-designed cars since 1904 (since 1903 if you count the Clement-Talbot brand).

The engine is a 3.0-liter straight-four rated at 15 horsepower. The body shows nicely and it looks to be an older restoration (I say that because the interior looks really nice and there’s no way that leather is original).

This particular car was sold new in Australia and the Roi-des-Belges body was constructed locally by Isaac Phizackerley – not exactly a household name, but he did very nice work on this large and imposing early automobile. It can be yours for between $78,500-$95,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $88,583.

Regal Underslung

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1911 Regal Model N Underslung

Offered by H&H Auctions | Duxford, U.K. | October 8, 2014

Photo - H&H Auctions

Photo – H&H Auctions

Underslung is a word most commonly associated with the American Motor Car Company. The term denotes a chassis design that was a novel idea at the time: hang the chassis below the axles. It provides for a sportier ride from a lower center of gravity. But American wasn’t the only company to take advantage of this. For example, there was also the Regal Motor Car Company. Despite its, um, regal, name, the cars were actually produced in Detroit.

Founded in 1907, the company introduced its Underslung model in 1910. The Model N was the base model in 1911 and it uses a 20 horsepower straight-four. It was only offered in two-passenger Runabout form. Two larger models were also sold. The Model N would stick around through 1914 and Regal would close its doors in 1918 due to material shortages during the Great War.

This car shows nice and is a, perhaps, more interesting alternative to the seemingly more common American Underslung. And at a much easier entry point, price-wise. This one will set you back between $40,500-$48,500. Click here for more info and here for the rest of H&H’s lineup.

Update: Sold about $39,477.

Mercer Raceabout

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1911 Mercer Type 35R Raceabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 15-16, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

You’re looking at one of the most important cars of all time. The Raceabout was Mercer’s signature model and it was available in some form or another from a year after the inception of the company (1911) until the company closed up in 1925.

What this is then is a Raceabout from the first year of manufacture. The car tamed a bit with age as it changed with the times, but these early cars are raw, performance machines. It is the original sports car, supplying a formula that cars would follow for the next 100+ years: big power, lightweight chassis, and a nimble chassis that meant a great motoring experience.

The Type 35R was new for 1911 and was available as a four-passenger Toy Tonneau (Type 35) or the two-passenger Raceabout (Type 35R), like you see here. The engine is a 4.9-liter straight-four that supposedly makes 58 horsepower. It’s actually a relatively small engine for the times, and that’s a lot of power for such an elemental car.

These were among the first “collectible” cars. This Type 35R was originally bodied differently but was converted to Raceabout form around 1945. It has known ownership history from new – and it’s been in the family of Henry Austin Clark Jr. since he bought it in 1949. That’s a long time. This is the earliest T-Head 1911 Mercer in existence, and it should bring between $3,500,000-$4,500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Monterey.

Update: Sold $2,530,000.

Benz Toy Tonneau

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1911 Benz 45/60HP Toy Tonneau by J.E. Demar

Offered by Bonhams | Stuttgart, Germany | July 12, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Benz built cars as a separate marque up until it merged with Daimler in 1926, but it seems like you so rarely see them. This 1911 45/60HP is a marvelous example. And so is that giant castle of a house in the background.

This car was imported as a bare chassis into New York City from Germany in 1911. In those days, a Benz chassis could cost an insane $8,500. So this was among the highest of luxuries in its day. It uses a 6.75-liter straight-four that makes 45/60 horsepower. The body is by Joseph Edward Demar, a coachbuilder in New York who operated for only four short years.

The car was discovered in Philadelphia around 1980. The restoration was completed in 1984 in the U.K. and the current collection acquired the car in 1994. It has spent some time in a Portuguese museum and has its original engine, body and chassis – rare for a car so old with such little history known. But it really is spectacular – and the price reflects it: there is an estimate of $1,200,000-$2,000,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Mercedes-Benz lineup.

Update: Not sold.

Reo Express

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1911 Reo Express Delivery

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 1, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Reo (or REO, depending on who you ask. Both are correct) was Ransom Eli Olds second automobile company after, you know, Oldsmobile. Reo was founded in 1905 and car production start with light cars that gave way to some pretty snazzy stuff along the lines of Oldsmobile. In 1910 the company added a line of trucks. This truck business would keep the Reo name (on trucks) on the road through 1975.

The 1908 Reo Single-Cylinder ‘Model B’ was a successful road car and became the basis for the company’s early trucks – including this one. The engine makes eight horsepower and has a two-speed transmission. It is believed that this truck – like many like it – was built for the railroads to move luggage and cargo around a station platform.

This truck is listed as a “survivor” although it looks amazing. A lot of work has been done to it – although it’s never been restored. It’s a great driver and easy to use. It would be a lot of fun for between $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Connecticut.

Update: Sold $22,000.