M.A.S.E. Racer

1922 M.A.S.E. Type V Course

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 2024

Photo – Bonhams

It occurred to be as a wrote the headline for this that the crossover point on the Venn diagram for people interested in a bare chassis from Manufacture d’Autos, Outillage et Cycles de St. Etienne (M.A.S.E.) and people interested in Mase the rapper contains a number of people that can be counted on one hand.

M.A.S.E. the car company existed between 1921 and 1925 and they specialized in small cars. The company was founded by Gustav Eiffel’s grandson, Rene Le Grain-Eiffel. Power on this example is from either a 904cc or 1.1-liter inline-four (the catalog does not specify) that was rated at seven horsepower.

This car was actually raced when new and was later given to a M.A.S.E. employee in lieu of payment. It was raced again, historically, after the war. and has, essentially, no bodywork as it was intended for competition. The engine was rebuilt about 10 years ago, and it is road legal. The estimate is $76,000-$100,000. More info can be found here.

Four-Wheeled Darmont

1934 Darmont Type V Junior

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 4, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Darmont was a car manufacturer from just outside Paris that was founded in 1919 when Robert Darmont began importing three-wheeled Morgans from the U.K. When the war ended, he teamed up with his brother André and to build Morgans under license under the name Darmont-Morgan. Darmont-branded cars went on sale in 1926 and lasted through 1939.

The Type V Junior was the last new model introduced by the company and it was the only four-wheeled car the company produced. Going on sale in 1935, the car was powered by a 1.1-liter V-twin engine.

Production ended in ’39 and this one features an “older” restoration. These are rare and it’s unknown how many were built. It should bring between $22,000-$33,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $20,619.