1909 Premier Model 45 Raceabout
Offered by Bonhams | Cape May, New Jersey | May 10, 2014
The Premier Motor Manufacturing Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, was founded in 1903. If this car looks big for a two-seater, that’s because it is. These old racer-style cars are huge and insanely cool.
Premier’s 1909 model line consisted of two models, with the Model 45 being the larger. It’s a six-cylinder engine under the long hood and it made a crazy-for-1909 45 horsepower. The Model 45 was available in three body styles – none of them a raceabout. In fact, this car was a formal limousine when new and the body was replaced to what you see here in the 1950s – a popular thing to have done to big, powerful old cars. And given this car’s Indy roots, it’s not unseemly.
Bonhams describes this as one of only a few six-cylinder Premiers still in existence, even though it hasn’t been used in decades. Premier closed its doors in 1925. This is a great way to get your hands on a racy old car on the cheap – if you’re up for a little project. This should sell for between $45,000-$60,000. Click here for more info and here fore the rest of this auction’s lineup.
Update: Sold $143,000.