1923 Zedel Type P 15HP Torpedo

Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | March 21, 2021

Photo – Aguttes

Ernest Zurcher and Herman Luthi founded Zedel in Switzerland in 1896. In 1903, they set up a second manufacturing location in France, and it was successful enough that the Swiss location eventually closed, making Zedel a predominantly French marque thereafter. It was taken over by Donnet in 1919, and the marque was changed to Donnet-Zedel in 1924.

The Type P is said to feature a “large displacement” inline-four that was rated at 15 taxable horsepower when new. The body is the story here, though. It looks long and low. It is long, but I think the shadows are making the roof look much more “chopped” than it really is. It makes it look menacing.

The pre-sale estimate on this car is $12,000-$18,000. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $21,429.

1910 Gladiator 12/14hp Type P Series 51 Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Hendon, U.K. | April 30, 2912

The Gladiator Cycle Company was founded in 1891 by Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq. From here the history of the marque becomes complicated: in 1896 Darracq sold the company to a group of Britons including Harvey du Cros. Darracq then went on to found the automobile company that bore his name. Meanwhile, Gladiator merged with Clément Cycles – which was founded by Adolphe Clément. The Clément-Gladiator company built it’s first car in 1896. In 1903, Adolphe Clément resigned to start Clément-Bayard and build cars of his own.

Gladiator produced cars under the name “Gladiator,” as well as “Clément,” simultaneously. At the same time, Adolphe Clément began selling his new, French-built Clément-Bayards in England under the name Clément-Talbot. There were other Clément-dash-somethings as well, but we won’t go into them now.

The car featured here is a 12/14hp Type P and it features a four-cylinder engine and a four/five seat coachbuilt body by Fred W. Baker Ltd of Stourbridge. It looks nice and has a detailed ownership history. There were so many automobile marques that didn’t last too terribly long and I find them all pretty interesting. Quite a few still have examples extant, while countless marques have been lost to time. The Gladiator marque ceased production in 1920.

The pre-sale estimate is $40,000-$48,000. For the complete catalog description, click here and to see the rest of Bonhams offerings for the RAF Museum in Hendon, click here.

Update: Did not sell.