Daimler Star of India

1926 Daimler 45 HP Salon Cabriolet by Barker

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-20, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Big Daimler’s from this era are impressive cars (perhaps none more so than this Double Six). Let’s keep in mind that this is a British Daimler, as the German Daimlers had become “Mercedes” by 1902. The British concern started building cars in 1896, and the last one was sold in 2010. It’s a dormant marque right now under Tata’s control.

But who cars about all of that, because look at this thing. The 45 was the “big” Daimler, with this being of the third model to carry that name, and it was produced from about 1926 through 1927. It would be replaced by the Double Six. Daimler called the 45 the largest production car in the world. Hard to argue. It’s powered by a massive 8.5-liter inline-six.

This car was purchased as a bare chassis by the Maharaja of Rewa for a cost of $7,000. It then went to Barker & Co. of London for a body. The body is actually made of “German silver,” which RM declines to define but is actually a catchall for various alloys. This one has some crazy features, like snakes that come over the front fenders, a single rear door, and an upright V-shaped windshield.

The car remained in India until the 1970s, and RM claims the tires date back to the period the car was built. Another Blackhawk car, this one has an estimate of $1,000,000-$1,500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $880,000.

1926 Lorraine-Dietrich

1926 Lorraine-Dietrich A4 Torpedo Sport

Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | March, 27, 2022

Photo – Aguttes

Lorraine-Dietrich cars came about when their parent company, a locomotive manufacturer, branched out into automobiles in 1896. Initial cars were an Amedee Bollee design, and by 1902 the designs were by a young Ettore Bugatti. Later events saw a short-lived merger with Isotta Fraschini and a sweeping of the podium at the 1926 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This A4 is also from 1926. It’s powered by a 12-horsepower, 2.3-liter inline-four and served as the company’s entry-level model. This car was restored in the last decade, starting that time out as a bare chassis and pile of parts.

So the body is a new one, but it looks the part, especially in French racing blue. The pre-sale estimate is $39,000-$60,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $47,234.

Bean Pickup

1926 Bean 14HP Commercial Pickup

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | July 17, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Bean Cars traced its roots back to a foundry that Absolom Harper started in 1822. The Bean name entered the fold in 1907, and the company made car parts prior to WWI. During the war, they produced artillery shells, and by the war’s end, they needed a replacement product. So Bean Cars was born in 1919.

They sold passenger cars for 10 years and light commercial vehicles from 1924 through 1931. This pickup falls in the latter category. The Bean 14 was launched in October 1923. This particular example left the factory as a five-seat Tourer model. It was re-bodied in 1927 as a pickup, and the factory 14-horsepower, 2.3-liter inline-four has been replaced with a much newer 1.6-liter Ford inline-four.

The truck was restored by a historic railway company in the U.K. in the late 1990s. It was purchased by its current owner at a Bonhams auction in 2017, and it’s now expected to bring between $14,000-$21,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $30,950.

Hispano-Suiza H6B Coupe

1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B Coupe by Park Ward

Offered by Bonhams | Chicester, U.K. | October 17, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

This Hispano-Suiza H6 (and later B and C variants) were produced between 1919 and 1933 by the French arm of the Spanish-Swiss company. We have featured exactly zero of the original H6 cars, two C models, and four Bs. Each of the Bs were large four-door cars, with the exception of the similarly large Le Dandy Cabriolet.

It never even really occurred to me that sporting coupes were available on this relatively large chassis. But I guess since they could pull it off on Duesenbergs, so why not. The H6B is powered by a 6.6-liter inline-six good for 135 horsepower.

This car debuted at the Olympia Motor Show in 1926 carrying coupe bodywork from Hooper. It was a show winner at many early Concours events, and it was re-bodied later on with this Park Ward coupe body that was originally attached to a 6.5-Litre Bentley. It’s a great adaptation and is said to be similar to the original Hooper body. The pre-sale estimate is $450,000-$520,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Voisin C4 S

1926 Voisin C4 S Two-Door Sedan

Offered by Artcurial | Gibel, France | TBD…

Voisin C4 S
Photo – Artcurial

Voisin built some fantastic luxury cars during its existence. At some point, Gabriel Voisin realized that he would have to build some volume models in order to survive. In 1921, he launched a small sedan called the C4.

It evolved into the C4 S in 1924, and that model lasted through 1926. It is powered by a 1.3-liter sleeve-valve inline-four that made 33 horsepower. This car is said to wear unique bodywork that is quite squared off at the front and more aerodynamic out back.

The car has been in this collection since 1968 and has not been used in recent years. It probably needs a little re-commissioning, but it’ll make for a cheap entry into Voisin ownership with a pre-sale estimate of $28,000-$39,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $37,108.

Duesenberg Opera Coupe

1926 Duesenberg Model A Opera Coupe

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2020

Photo – Gooding & Company

The Model A was Duesenberg’s first production automobile after years of building racing cars and engines. It was a few other firsts as well: it was the first car produced with hydraulic brakes and the first U.S.-based production car with a straight-eight engine.

It’s powered by a 4.3-liter straight-eight, in fact, that makes 88 horsepower. Production lasted from 1921 through 1926, and only about 650 examples were produced. This one comes from near the end of the run and wears an Opera Coupe body by the McNear Body Company of Brookline, Massachusetts.

This is said to be the only Model A with this coachwork. It is expected to bring between $250,000-$300,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Fordson Truck

1926 Fordson Prototype

Offered by Mecum | Davenport, Iowa | November 7, 2019

Photo – Mecum

Early Ford trucks were based on the Model T. They usually had a dually rear axle and some other changes, but the relation to the T was pretty obvious. They were even called the TT. The vehicle you see here was the first Ford heavy-duty truck. It’s a two-ton chassis, and it was built under the Fordson brand.

Fordson was a brand of tractors marketed by the Ford Motor Company between 1917 and 1964. The name also appeared on some light commercial vehicles in the U.K. The truck is powered by a Fordson tractor engine and transmission. The way it is packaged makes it looks like it completely lacks an engine, with the radiator mounted behind the front axle.

This was the only example of the Fordson two-ton truck that was actually delivered to a customer. It eventually made its way to the Harrah Collection and has been privately owned since 1983. Mecum has been making a big deal of it, which is the star of the show at this sale. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $90,750.

Atterbury Truck

1926 Atterbury 5-Ton Truck

Offered by Mecum | Chicago, Illinois | October 24-26, 2019

Photo – Mecum

Autocar has been a player in the heavy truck industry since 1908, and during some of that time, they were building passenger cars. Meanwhile, the Auto-Car Equipment Company was founded in 1904 in Buffalo, New York. When Autocar (of Pennsylvania) got into the truck business in ’08, Auto-Car, of Buffalo, whose sole business was trucks, changed their name to Buffalo.

And in 1910, they reformed again as the Atterbury Motor Car Company. By 1911 they were offering four different capacities of trucks, with the 5-ton example being the largest. This particular truck features a large pickup-style body and is powered by an inline-four engine.

Atterbury introduced new models in 1931, which they continued to produce through 1935 when they closed down. The company never really got huge, selling just 141 trucks in 1929, many to Canada. This one carries a pre-sale estimate of $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $77,000.

Maxim Fire Truck

1926 Maxim Fire Truck

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | Weybridge, U.K. | May 18, 2019

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Fire trucks are not an uncommon collector’s item. But even old historical parade-worthy examples like this still only manage prices in the four-digit or low-five-digit range. I think it’s very odd, but I guess they have a relatively low usability factor.

The Maxim Motor Company was founded in Middleboro, Massachusetts in 1914 by Carlton Maxim. He was a firefighter, and his initial goal was to build a fire engine for his department. Well that blossomed into a company that was purchased by Seagrave in 1963. They built their last fire truck in 1989.

This pre-war example appears to be powered by a straight-six engine. It carries a Connecticut livery and was recently used in the filming of the live-action version of Dumbo. It is expected to bring between $12,000-$16,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Withdrawn from sale.

Gothic Lincoln


1926 Lincoln Model L Gothic Phaeton by Murphy

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | St. Louis, Missouri | May 4-5, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Henry Leland‘s Lincoln Model L went on sale in 1921 and would remain in production until 1930. By then Ford had taken over and things went in a different direction. But for a solid decade, Leland’s well-engineered cars were a viable alternative to the Packards and Cadillacs of the era.

The 5.9-liter L-head V8 made 90 horsepower, and quite a few bodies could be had – either from the factory or from a number of coachbuilders. Enter Walter M. Murphy who built this so-called “Gothic Phaeton” for a millionaire rancher in San Diego. The body is aluminum and features brass and nickel trim. Some interior surfaces are gold-plated. It has immense and wonderful detail, including folding seats that turn into a bed.

That pointed two-piece windshield along with the weathered trunk out back and water-stained convertible top add to a somewhat menacing, old world appearance completely worthy of its “Gothic” name. It’s probably the most fantastic Model L I’ve come across and is expected to bring between $100,000-$150,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $112,000.