Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 2, 2023
Photo – Bonhams
Liege-based Nagant was actually founded as a firearms manufacturer, and some of their guns would be staples of the Russian military for decades. The company’s first cars came about in 1900 based on the Gobron-Brillie.
The first Nagant-designed cars arrived in 1907. They were sold in England under the Nagant-Hobson marque. This one is powered by a 3.1-liter inline-four and features a four/five-seater touring car body.
This car was partially restored in New Zealand before returning to Belgium in the early 1990s. It has remained with the consignor for the last 30 years and carries an estimate of $42,500-$64,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 19, 2022
Photo – Bonhams
Pope-Hartford was the longest-lasting of all of the marques of Colonel Albert Augustus Pope. The first cars were sold in 1904, and the brand continued on through 1914. In 1910, they offered a Model T, with the Models W and Y following for 1911.
Power in the Model W is from a 6.4-liter inline-four that made about 50 horsepower. The car is thought to have received its racing-style body prior to WWII. It was purchased by early sporting car collector Lindley Bothwell in the 1950s and raced in that decade at the Santa Catalina Island and Pebble Beach Sports Car Races.
Bothwell died in 1986, and his collection was not dispersed until 2017. Prior to that, this car was used in the movie Seabiscuit, presumably where the horse’s owner fills his horse barn with pre-war racing cars and then later removes them again in favor of horses. It’s a quick scene, but there is some real eye candy in it. The pre-sale estimate here is $400,000-$500,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022
Photo – Mecum
The Reliance Motor Car Company was founded in Owosso, Michigan, in 1906. The company relocated its headquarters to Detroit in 1908. Why? Well, because it was scooped up by Billy Druant and merged into General Motors. Three years later, GM formed the General Motors Truck Company, and in 1911 Reliance (and Rapid, which they also owned) were phased out in favor the GMC brand.
So this truck was built the year before GM axed the marque. The original engine would’ve been a 5.1-liter inline-three that made 45 horsepower. Now it has an International-sourced 2.2-liter industrial inline-four.
The catalog description notes that the truck was formerly used in parades until the wood-spoke wheel starting cracking. So I guess if you want to drive it you’re gonna have to fix that… At any rate, Reliance trucks are not very common, and this one is proof that being a truck driver around 1910 was not a glamorous affair. You can read more about this one here and see more from this sale here.
Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 3, 2022
Photo – Bonhams
Durkopp, now known as Durkopp Adler, is a Germany company specializing in sewing machines, which is actually where the company got its start. They later expanded to bicycles before ending up producing automobiles. Production cars appeared in 1906, and commercial vehicles were also sold. Passenger cars were phased out in 1927, and trucks in 1929. After that they retreated to sewing machines.
This car is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four that made about 18 horsepower. The car is said to be original, and it is thought that the body was an early one produced by Karmann. It was sold new in Sweden and was placed into storage in the mid-1920s, remaining there for about 80 years.
The car was acquired by the current owner in 2013 and has spent time in a museum. It now carries a pre-sale estimate of $120,000-$150,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
1910 Rochet-Schneider 18HP Series 9300 Open-Drive Landaulet
Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 5, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
Rochet-Schneider was founded in 1894, and by 1910, they had earned the right to be producing large luxurious limousines like this one. Their cars were for the wealthy elite, and nothing says “I’m wealthy” like an open-drive landaulet where you right in an enclosed cabin out back while your driver suffers through the heat/rain/freezing cold.
The Series 9300 was introduced for 1910 and is powered by a 3.7-liter inline-four rated at 18 horsepower. This example was part of a large collection that was disbanded in 2005. The car is either largely original or wearing a very old restoration. The exterior isn’t perfect, but looks good. And the tufted leather in the rear compartment seems to have held up well.
The issue here is that, since the current owner bought it in 2005, it has only been started once. This thing is gonna need a nice recommissioning if you want to use it. The pre-sale estimate is $41,000-$55,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Slough, U.K. | July 17, 2021
Photo – Historics Auctioneers
Cadillac’s Model 30 was produced from 1909 through 1911. It was their only model those three years and was based on a design stemming from 1906 (although it was called by different names then, including the Model G). The four-cylinder model would continue one essentially unchanged through 1914.
The engine is a 4.2-liter inline-four that was rated at 33 horsepower when new. In 1909 and early 1910, you could only get the 30 as an open car. Limousines and coupes didn’t come until mid-1910. Two roadsters were available at $1,600 each. This is the two-seat roadster.
It was restored over time, and the body is said to have been fitted about 100 years ago. So I guess that makes it close enough to being “original.” It is expected to fetch between $37,000-$55,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 29, 2021
Photo – Osenat
Charles-Henri Brasier and Georges Richard produced cars together under the Richard-Brasier marque between 1902 and 1905. Then, Georges Richard went off to found Unic, and Brasier kept going under his own name.
Beginning in 1908, Brasier customers got to mix-n-match to build the car they wanted. They selected a chassis size, engine, and body separately. This example is powered by a 12-horsepower inline-four and features a large double phaeton body.
Brasier cars were expensive, and prior to WWI they built about 1,000 cars a year. They survived the war building aircraft engines, but their fortunes dwindled afterward. 1926 saw a merger, and the company was gone by the early 1930s. This is one of the better examples of Charles-Henri Brasier’s cars that I’ve seen, and it should sell for between $47,000-$70,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Artcurial | Grezillac, France | September 27, 2020
Photo – Artcurial
Automobiles Georges Roy was founded in Bordeaux in 1906. They started out with single-cylinder cars and steadily worked their way up to sixes. The company was popular enough locally that it was able to survive for a few decades.
Passenger car production wrapped in 1929, and truck production continued on through 1932. This Type O Torpedo features a cylindrical engine compartment and circular radiator grille. Power is from a 2.2-liter inline-four.
The car actually appears quite large from the angle shown above, but its side-profile proportions make it seem much smaller. This is a rare touring car from a company not often represented at public sale. Seldom used in the last few years of museum duty, this car is offered with an estimate of $16,000-$21,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Autocar remains the oldest surviving vehicle brand in the United States, but they haven’t built a passenger car in over 100 years. It’s been heavy trucks for most of that time. Well, since 1907 to be exact.
This stake-bed truck is powered by a two-cylinder engine and has solid 35″ rubber tires, no weather protection, and a giant ship-like headlight. It’s basic. But that’s exactly what trucks were in 1910. They served a purpose – and it’s amazing that this one is still around. Look for a price between $20,000-$25,000 next week. Click here for more info.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Autocar remains the oldest surviving vehicle brand in the United States, but they haven’t built a passenger car in over 100 years. It’s been heavy trucks for most of that time. Well, since 1907 to be exact.
This stake-bed truck is powered by a two-cylinder engine and has solid 35″ rubber tires, no weather protection, and a giant ship-like headlight. It’s basic. But that’s exactly what trucks were in 1910. They served a purpose – and it’s amazing that this one is still around. Look for a price between $20,000-$25,000 next week. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $33,000.
1912 International Model AW Auto Wagon
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
It’s hard to really draw a line in the sand as to when International switched from cars to trucks, as all of their high-wheeled cars were sort of truck-like from the start. In a way, 1911 was the last official year for passenger cars, as their 1912 announcement centered on delivery wagons (though you could get car-like appointments by request on their smallest commercial chassis for years afterward).
These “Auto Wagons” were available in two models for a few years: the AW and the MW. They evolved through 1915, but in 1916 IHC moved to a more modern style and things just kept going from there. With the rear bench seats, I like to think of this as an early SUV, a territory that IHC would dabble in all the way through the early 1980s.
The difference between the AW and MW was their cooling systems. This is where it gets weird. The AW was the air-cooled car, and the MW was water-cooled. The red car above is listed as an AW in RM’s catalog and is clearly water-cooled. The blue car below is listed as a 1913 Model MW. But it is air-cooled. Something is wrong here, or these cars got their running gear swapped at some point.
Both engines were 3.2-liter flat-twins, but the air-cooled version was good for 18 horsepower, three more than its water-cooled sibling.
Regardless, both cars are expected to fetch between $20,000-$30,000 each. So pick one and then rename it. More info on the red car is available here, and you can see the blue one here. Check out more from this sale here.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Update: Sold (red one): $33,000. (Blue one): $28,600.
