Durant Rugby

1925 Rugby Model F Tourer

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | October 28, 2021

Photo – Brightwells

Billy Durant’s second automobile empire after GM was Durant Motors. It only lasted for a decade, from 1921 through 1931, but he did manage to assemble a small contingent of brands, including Durant, Flint, Mason, and Star. He even expanded overseas.

But the Star name was already in use in the U.K. So Durant rebranded his Star cars as the Rugby for the British Commonwealth. It was a relative success. About 70,000 Model Fs were churned out under the various Durant brands across all markets. This car is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four that was rated at 35 horsepower when new.

The great thing about Stars is that they are very inexpensive today, even for a nice one, which this looks to be. The pre-sale estimate is only $10,000-$11,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold (I think), $10,001.

Rugby Pickup

1930 Rugby S4 Closed Cab Express

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 9-11, 2015

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Rugby was an automotive brand sold by Durant Motors outside of the U.S. In the U.S., the Rugby passenger cars were sold under the Star brand. However, between 1928 and 1931, Americans and Canadians alike could purchase a Rugby pickup truck.

This truck is in beautiful condition. Look how sharp that paint is. And the woodwork looks great too. Old trucks are hard to come by because they were used until there was nothing left and thrown away, more or less. The S4 was powered by the same 2.2-liter straight-four found in Star motorcars.

Durant Motors closed in 1931 and Rugby went down with them. This is about as nice an example of a Rugby truck you’re likely to find. You can check out more pictures here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $35,000.