Tag Archives: tonneau

Laperrelle Tonneau

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1901 Laperrelle Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | October 31, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Voitures Légères, F de Laperelle, Mottereau-Brou (E&L) was the name of an otherwise unknown company that existed around the turn of the century in France. No record of it exists anywhere in the known realm of automotive literature. Or even the internet, for that matter. In fact, the lot description spells the name of the car two different ways.

This car is powered by a single-cylinder engine and is all original except for the paint (which was redone in 1960). Literally nothing else is known. The chassis number is 96, which suggests they built a hundred cars, yet no one recorded it anywhere. It’s kind of strange that a brand new, unheard of marque from 115 years ago just pops up out of the blue. Automotive archaeology at its finest.

This car has been owned by the same family since new, which is astounding. It also runs and drives. This is a remarkable car and perfect for someone who wants a challenge and something interesting, historical, and unique. The estimate is $96,000-$130,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

1902 De Dietrich

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1902 De Dietrich Type 8 “Paris-Vienna” Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | June 27, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

In Alsace, De Dietrich is more than just a short-lived, early car manufacturer. It’s an old family that owned lots of land and had lots of titles. They entered industry in the 1840s and in 1897 they sold their first automobiles. Strangely, as beautiful and well-engineered as these cars were, the De Dietrich marque would be gone after 1905 as the cars were then sold as Lorraine-Dietrichs.

This particular car has an interesting history – it was discovered during WWII when a German bomb blew apart the barn that this thing had been stored in since 1912. This model is identical to those that De Dietrich entered in the 1902 Paris-Vienna race. It uses a 4.1-liter straight-four that puts out 16 horsepower. It can power this fairly large car up to speeds of 55 mph on level roads.

This car was bought new by a member of the Guinness brewing family. He sold it and it was parked in 1912. In the 1940s, after it was unearthed by the aforementioned German explosive, the car was rescued from outdoor deterioration and a restoration was started in 1946. It has had a few owners since (and spent time in a museum) and a second restoration. This thing is beautiful. I wish I had the $1,300,000-$1,400,000 necessary to acquire it. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,700,349.

1905 De Dion-Bouton

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1905 De Dion-Bouton Model Z 8hp Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 1, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

De Dion-Bouton was the world’s first great automobile manufacturer. They built an empire starting in 1883. They became a huge supplier of engines and parts – selling far more engines to other manufacturers than they did cars of their own. Even so, by 1900 they were the world’s largest auto manufacturer.

Their brightest spot were these pre-1910 cars… really anything 1905 and prior is where they were at their best, even though passenger car production lasted until 1932. The Model Z was new for 1905 (introduced at the tail end of 1904). Not much is known about this rare model but it does have an eight horsepower single-cylinder engine and very big body.

The history on this example is known back to about the 1950s in the U.K. The body is likely not original, having been replaced at least once since 1905 (it was known as a two-seater shortly after WWII). It came to the U.S. in the 1990s and was restored near the end of that decade, winning an award at Pebble Beach in 2001. It’s a pretty awesome car and should bring between $100,000-$120,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Greenwich lineup.

Update: Sold $93,500.

Ford Model AC

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1904 Ford Model AC Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | Cape May, New Jersey | May 10, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The 1903 Ford Model A was the first automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company. They built between 1,500 and 1,700 of those flat-twin-powered cars in only two years. The updated Model C followed in 1904 and lasted through 1905.

Then what is a Model AC? It was a 1904 model year-only car that was essentially a Model A with the larger, more powerful engine from the forthcoming Model C. Call it a hot rod with its 2.0-liter flat-twin making 10 horsepower (up from eight in the Model A).

It is thought that this car was restored in the 1950s and has been preserved since. With about 1,700 Model A/Model AC cars built, Bonhams states that only about 30-60 of them remain (but it is unclear if they are referring to Model As or Model ACs or both). At any rate, it is safe to assume that this is much rarer than a normal Model A. It’s in nice but not perfect shape and should sell for between $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $88,000.

1903 Clement

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1903 Clement 12/16HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 1, 2013

1903 Clement 12-16HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Here is yet another vehicle (from yet another marque) that can be traced back to Adolphe Clement-Bayard. If you’re keeping score at home, please let me know how many this makes, because I’ve lost count. That mustachioed Frenchman sure had a knack for starting car companies.

Clement began producing cars in 1899. Between then and 1903, they were sold under the Clement and Clement-Gladiator names. In 1903, they became known as Clement-Bayard. Clement-Talbot and that whole story is separate from these companies (although very closely related).

Anyway, this car was sold new to a Spaniard named Don Francisco Serramalera Abadal. He was a major automotive importer and salesman who sold mainly French cars to wealthy clients. He would produce cars under his own name in the 1910s. He managed to win a hillclimb in this car in 1904 (so it does have “competition history”). The restoration is about 40 years old and the flimsy-looking wooden top is removable to turn this into a nice roadster.

The engine is a 2.1-liter straight-four making 12/16 horsepower. This Clement is from the final year of Clement production (of the four short years they were available). It is very nice, even though the restoration is older, and should bring a still-big price. The estimate is between $480,000-$640,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ London auction catalog.

Update: Sold $569,937.

Clement-Talbot

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1903 Clement-Talbot Type CT4K 18hp Four-Cylinder Roi-d’Italie Tonneau by Rothschild

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 1, 2013

1903 Clement-Talbot Type CT4K 18hp Four-Cylinder Roi-d'Italie Tonneau by Rothschild

This is one of the stars of the show at what has become one of my very favorite auctions of the year. One thing that makes me happy about this car is that it comes from one of the most confusing car company histories ever: the Clement and Talbot mess. I find it fascinating. Continue reading →

1901 Georges Richard

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1901 Georges Richard 3.5hp Single-Cylinder Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau by Vedrine

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 1, 2013

1901 Georges Richard 3.5hp Single-Cylinder Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau by Vedrine

Sometimes early cars don’t really have model names – or maybe that have model names that we just don’t know. So instead, we call them by every conceivable descriptive attribute we can see – hence the somewhat ridiculous-in-name name of this car above. And sometimes, there are car companies that sound like a guy’s full name, but aren’t. This time, Georges Richard was an actual person.

Richard worked in a bicycle shop with his brother and by 1897, he and his brother had branched out on their own and began building cars under Georges’ name in a shop north of Paris. In 1901, an engineer named Henri Brasier joined the company and after 1903, the cars were re-branded Richard-Brasier (and just plain old Brasier in 1905 after Richard left the company).

The car you see here was built by Georges Richard in 1901 – during the time when the company was building the Belgian Vivinus car under license (so it is very similar). The engine is a 785cc single-cylinder putting out 3.5 horsepower. It tops out near 25 mph.

This car has been in the same ownership for the last quarter-century, but not much is known of it prior to that. Fun note: this car has a reverse gear that you can’t use because the original owner was too cheap to tick the box for the lever that engages reverse. In any case, this is a neat old car from a short-lived marque that should bring between $89,000-$97,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this awesome sale.

Update: Sold $91,571.

Lacoste & Battmann

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1903 Lacoste et Battmann 12hp Twin-Cylinder Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 1, 2013

1903 Lacoste et Battmann 12hp Twin-Cylinder Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau

I’ll start by saying that this car is described as “believed 1903 Lacoste et Battmann” – meaning no one’s really sure what this is. It was believed to be a Regal for many years until 2000 when an expert said it might actually be a Lacoste et Battmann. But if it were a Regal, it would still be a Lacoste et Battmann.

Here’s why: Lacoste & Battmann was founded in 1897 by Jacques Lacoste in Paris. But they rarely sold cars under their own name. In fact, they built cars for other companies – as many as seven different marques. Regal was one of those seven companies.

This car was purchased by its second owner at auction in 1908. It was worn out and restored (after only five years!) and put back on the road in 1910. The car has been in the same family since. The second restoration (which was mechanical in nature only) was completed in 2001.

The engine is a 2.4-litre two-cylinder making 12 horsepower. If this truly is a Lacoste et Battmann, it is very rare. Even if it isn’t, it is very likely one of their cars that was marketed under a different name – and the rarity remains. The company closed up shop in 1913. This example – with 1908-era interior and exterior – should sell for between $210,000-$260,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $123,920.

Alldays & Onions

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1908 Alldays & Onions 10/12 HP Four-Seater Swing-Seat Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 7, 2013

1908 Alldays & Onions 1012 HP Four-Seater Swing-Seat Tonneau

Of all automobile manufacturers, Alldays & Onions has one of the strangest names. You can trace its roots back farther than the merger of two engineering companies in 1889: to Onions (founded in 1650 by a Mr. John Onions) and William Allday & Co. (founded in 1720 by, well, William Allday). When combined, they became a well-known blacksmith equipment and pneumatic engineering company based in Birmingham.

They built their first car in 1898 and by 1918 the company’s name had changed to Enfield-Alldays. This model was introduced in 1905 and it was Alldays & Onions’ most successful model. It uses a 1.6-liter twin-cylinder engine making 10/12 horsepower.

The original owner and registrant of this car is known (it was first registered in 1909). It’s post-WWII history is more or less known. It was “sympathetically” restored sometime prior to 1987 but was still described as “highly original” when it was sold in ’87. It has spent a good deal of its life in private collections not having seen much use. It has been prepped prior to this sale and is usable. It should sell for between $44,000-$50,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams at the National Motor Museum.

Update: Sold $68,077

Fisson Tonneau

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1898 Fisson 8HP 3-Litre Tonneau

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2013

1898 Fisson 8HP 3-Litre Tonneau

Louis Fisson founded his car company in Paris in 1896. While only in business for a few years, he managed to build an unknown number of cars before he gave up the venture in 1898. There were two types available – a rear-engined and a front-engined model. This is of the front-engined variety and it is the only one like it that survives. It uses a 3.0-liter straight-two (the cylinders are giant) making eight horsepower.

It spent a long time in a Long Island (New York) automobile museum and was sent back to Europe (the U.K.) in the 1980s. It was not restored until 1995 and it competed in the 1996 London-to-Brighton run. It is a very early, very rare motorcar that can be yours for an estimated $290,000-$340,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial at Rètromobile.

Update: Sold $311,050.