Tag Archives: 1916

1916 Hispano-Suiza Roadster

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1916 Hispano-Suiza Type 24 Roadster

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18-19, 2023

Photo – Gooding & Company

This is a Spanish-built Hispano-Suiza. Their most popular models came from their French arm in the 1920s and ’30s. This is a much smaller car than those – and earlier. It’s a Type 24, the company’s 8/10HP model.

This model was available from 1914 through 1922 and features a 1.9-liter inline-four that was good for about 30 horsepower. This car was in a private Spanish collection as early as the 1960s and was moved to the U.K. by its current owner in the 2010s.

Gooding describes the car as “recommissioned” but it has clearly been restored at some point. Hispano-Suizas are not a car you can find on any old car lot, and early cars like this don’t come up for sale often, probably not even annually. The no-reserve estimate here is $175,000-$225,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold $123,200.

Packard Twin Six

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1916 Packard Twin Six 1-25 Seven-Passenger Touring

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

Photo – Gooding & Company

In 1915, Packard offered one line of cars: the 3-38 six. The next year, the six was dead. Instead, they doubled it to the Twin Six – which was Packard’s first V12. This car is the beginning of Packard’s legendary pre-war V12 lineup that would last through 1923 before reappearing for 1933-1939.

The engine is a 6.9-liter V12 that was rated at 88 horsepower. Two different wheelbases were offered, with this example being on the shorter 125″ wheelbase. On this chassis, nine different body styles were offered.

This seven-passenger tourer has known ownership history since new and has been in static storage for some time. Fun fact, there is a disclaimer at the bottom of the catalog that essentially says “this car may or may not come with a title, good luck.” At $60,000-$80,000, good luck indeed. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $56,000.

Dort Model 5

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1916 Dort Model 5 Touring

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Broadway, U.K. | August 5, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Flint, Michigan’s Dort Motor Car Company was founded by Billy Durant and Dallas Dort in 1886. The company started out building carriages and at one point was the largest such builder in the country. Dort made a late switch to motorcars, and that’s mostly because Durant had founded General Motors in 1908 and remained as part owner of Dort until 1914.

Once he left Dort, the company was free to basically compete against him. So the first Dort cars rolled out for 1915. The first two years of production consisted of this: the Model 5 Touring. They sold 9,000 of them by the end of 1916. Power is from a 2.7-liter Lycoming inline-four rated at 17 horsepower.

The cars cost $695 when new, over $200 more than a Model T. The last Dorts were sold in 1924, and Dallas Dort died the following year. This car is one of two Dorts in the U.K. and has a pre-sale estimate of $12,000-$18,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $11,005.

C.T. Electric Truck

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1916 C.T. Model F 5-Ton Flatbed

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Perhaps the photographer should’ve stepped back 10 feet. C.T. electric trucks were produced by the Commercial Truck Company of America, which was based in Philadelphia. The company built, well, commercial trucks, many of which looked like this, from 1908 through 1928.

Power is from four General Electric electric motors, with one stationed at each wheel. They had a range of 40-50 miles, and this one was one of 20 used by the publisher of the Saturday Evening Post… into the 1960s! I once bid on one of these trucks, but that’s a story for a different day.

There are some of these funky trucks out there (pretty sure NATMUS has one). You can check out more about this one here.

Update: Sold $26,400.

Breeding Steam Truck

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1916 Breeding 5-Ton Steam Truck

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25, 2022

Photo – Mecum

This poorly-photographed truck is too interesting not to feature here, regardless of its 2004-era cell phone photo shoot. Breeding Engineering was based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and they developed a steam-powered commercial chassis leading up to the outbreak of WWI.

WWI killed any hope for the truck, which was backburner-ed and never really completed. The chassis was later found in Sardinia, Ohio, while the engine had been relocated to Kentucky with the original designer’s grandson. The wood cab was built at the time of the restoration.

The steam engine is similar to that of a Stanley, but it’s since been modified to run on compressed air. Check out more about this one-off truck here and dream about what could’ve been in the world of steam-powered heavy commercial vehicles.

Update: Sold $12,100.

Packet Pickup

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1916 Packet Open-Cab Express

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022

Photo – Mecum

This is another truck from Mecum’s sale of vehicles from the Hays Antique Truck Museum. But it’s most more “light duty” than other trucks. Had the segment existed, this probably would’ve fallen into the “full-size pickup” category of the WWI era.

Frank Brasie founded the Brasie Motor Truck Company in Minneapolis in 1913. In 1916, he renamed the marque Packet, which produced trucks for another year before everything closed down. It’s powered by a 12-horsepower inline-four with a friction disc transmission and chain drive.

This is said to be the only Packet in existence, and it’s obviously had a decent restoration at some point in the past when compared to its museum siblings. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $9,900.

Packard Box Truck

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1916 Packard Model E 2.5-Ton C-Cab Box Truck

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Auburn, Indiana | September 3, 2021

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Packard was one of America’s grandest automobiles around the start of WWI. But they were also producing some pretty heavy-duty commercial vehicles at that time as well. We’ve actually featured a 3-ton variant of the Model E in the past, but this earlier 2.5-ton variant features a C-cab design.

Power is from an 8.6-liter inline-six good for about 60 horsepower. This truck was built in 1916 – the first year for shaft drive after Packard ditched its drive chains. This thing is pretty massive and sports a cool period-style corn starch livery.

Old commercial vehicles are always a treat as their survival rates are dismal at best. This one is coming out of a Packard-focused museum and will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $30,800.

1916 Cole

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1916 Cole 8-50 Tuxedo Roadster

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | Online

Photo – Bring a Trailer

The Indianapolis-based Cole Motor Car Company existed between 1909 and 1925. Their claim to fame is that they were an early adopter of the V8 engine, which was actually introduced with this model, 1916’s 8-50 (which was more or less identical to 1917’s Series 860).

A handful of body styles were offered, including this three-seat roadster. That’s right, three seats. It’s practically a McLaren F1, except that the driver and front-passenger seats are split apart, with a narrow pathway to the rear bench that has a backrest for someone to sit in the middle.

The V8 engine, curiously, was actually produced by a then-division of General Motors. It’s a 5.7-liter V8 and it was made by Northway. The factory rating was 39 horsepower. This car is listed as a project, but the seller (the Indy Motor Speedway Museum) has a video of it driving around. Bidding is up to $8,500 at the time of this writing, and the car will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $22,750.

Overland Model 83

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1916 Overland Model 83 Tourer

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | October 14, 2020

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

John Willys bought Overland in 1908, with the company fully merging to become Willys-Overland in 1912. But the Overland marque remained separate from Willys, which didn’t actually start producing cars until 1915. Overland, which sold its first car in 1903, continued on as its own marque until 1926.

The auction catalog lists this as a 1915 Willys Model 83, but Willys never made a Model 83. Overland, however, did. And they did so in 1916. The Model 83 is powered by a 35-horsepower inline-four and rides on a 106″ wheelbase.

It was the nicer of the two Overland models for 1916 and was offered in quite a few different body styles, including the $750-when-new five-passenger touring. It is now expected to fetch between $9,000-$11,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $13,367.

Owen Magnetic Touring

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1916 Owen Magnetic Model O-36 Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 27, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

The Owen Magnetic was a technical marvel of its day. Designed by engineer Justus B. Entz and produced by Raymond and Ralph Owen beginning in 1915, the car was famous for using an early series electric hybrid drivetrain.

Basically, the 34 horsepower straight-six powered a generator that turned the driveshaft, and in turn, the rear wheels. Speed was controlled by a selector on the steering wheel. It’s a pretty complicated set up, which made the cars super expensive when new. This one, for instance, would’ve cost $3,750. And it was the cheapest one you could get.

Between 1916 and 1919, the Owen Magnetic was actually built by the people behind the Rauch & Lang as well as the Baker Electric cars. It outlasted them, but ultimately folded in 1921, and the last two years’ worth of production were all headed overseas. This rare example should bring between $80,000-$110,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $128,800.