1917 Austin 20 EXP1 Prototype

Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | November 15, 2017

Photo – H&H Classics

Coming out of the First World War, the Austin Motor Company of England needed to get back into the swing of automobile production. So they built this four-door tourer in 1917. Austin’s test driver drove it all over the U.K. hyping Austin’s new car that is based on this: the 20.

The first generation of the 20 was available from 1919 through 1929. This car is powered by a 3.6-liter straight-four making 20 horsepower and it’s capable of 60 mph. By the time production started in 1919, their test driver had raised over £6 million in pre-orders for the 20, making his tour a wild success, especially because Austin beat many competitors to market after the war.

This car was discovered as a rolling chassis and was pulled out of a hedge and restored about 15 years ago. There aren’t a lot of automobile prototypes still around from this era, making this a rare treat. As a piece of British automotive history, this car should bring between $60,000-$75,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

1911 Courier 20 Commercial Wagon

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 7, 2013

The auction catalog lists this car as a Courier Stoddard, but according to other sources, the cars were only called Courier – even though Courier was a subsidiary of Stoddard-Dayton (perhaps the “Stoddard is the model name, but it’s rather confusing so I omitted it from the title above). Courier was introduced in 1909 and lasted through 1912 (for the final year they were known as Courier-Clermont once they had been acquired by the U.S. Motor Company – which promptly failed).

This was a lower-priced car than the Stoddard-Dayton. They were targeted at Ford buyers who wanted more performance for a similar price. Performance was likely: this car is powered by a 22 horsepower 3.7-liter straight-four. They were also durable as Courier built their cars like a light truck but with roadster bodywork.

This particular car spent a long time in Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. The workers there did a light restoration on it years ago, although the car was mostly original when it was performed. Everything is either correct or period-correct and in working order and it has been in a private collection since 2008. Courier was a very short-lived automobile, making this very rare. It should sell for between $30,000-$40,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams’ awesome Preserving the Automobile sale.

Update: Sold $20,900.