Offered by Aguttes | Brussels, Belgium | October 2024
Photo – Aguttes
Philos was based in Lyon, France, and existed from 1912 through 1923. This early car was restored around 2000 and looks like the type of Edwardian car you would see in a children’s movie that took place prior to WWI. It’s so colorful and covered in brass.
This early two-seat Philos is powered by a 1.1-liter inline-four that was rated at eight (presumably taxable) horsepower. The engine was sourced from Ballot. The survival rate for Philos cars isn’t that high, as this is the second one I can recall coming up for sale in the last decade.
It has an estimate of $16,000-$28,000. More info can be found here.
Bedelia was a French marque that existed between 1910 and 1925. Prime time for cyclecars, which were light, low-powered cars that were cheap and efficient. They were a fad, really. And one that never came back. They were kind of like the proto-microcar.
Some of them featured tandem seating like this car. In today’s world, being positioned behind your passengers as the driver seems insane. The car features a V-twin engine turned to the side, unlike a Morgan of the same era.
This is another car that was acquired by the Mullin museum from as part of the Schlumpf reserve collection. It’s a project, but finding another one isn’t going to be easy (they’re out there, though). The estimate is $10,000-$20,000. More info can be found here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The White Motor Car Company existed for 80 years – from 1900 through 1980. But passenger cars disappeared after 1918. In the early years, the company also dabbled in steam propulsion before going exclusively to gas-powered cars in 1912.
This car is from 1913, partially. The 1913 Model Forty was powered by a G.E.B. 40-horsepower inline-four. But this car actually has a G.E.C. engine from 1915, which made 45 horsepower.
The car would’ve retailed for about $3,500 when new, which means they didn’t sell many. But White cars were good, so its no surprise it’s still around. And it remains not cheap: the estimate is $70,000-$90,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18-19, 2023
Photo – Gooding & Company
Henry Lozier founded his namesake automobile company in Plattsburgh, New York, and moved it to Detroit in 1910, five years after selling their first cars. Loziers were among the best cars you could buy in America – and some of the most expensive.
The Type 72 of 1913 was the most powerful the company offered during their 13-year existence. The Type 72 is powered by a 9.1-liter inline-six rated in period at 51.6 horsepower (but actually probably closer to 90). The Meadowbrook Runabout was the sports car among the body style offerings, and very limited quantities of the Type 72 were built in total.
This is the only surviving runabout example with its original (aluminum!) body. It was restored in 1953-’54 and was acquired by its late owner in 1959. It’s a top-rate classic car, and the estimate is $1,000,000-$1,500,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Weybridge, U.K. | November 26, 2022
Photo – Historics Auctioneers
The Renault35CV range of cars took the place of the 50-60-horsepower cars that ended production in 1910. These were large Renaults, especially compared to the two-cylinder cars that dominated the sales charts for the company.
The DQ is powered by an 8.5-liter inline-four rated at about 45 horsepower and was only built in 1913. This one was restored in the U.K. in the 1990s. There are always these “bare chassis” finds of pre-WWI cars, and I’ve always wondered who buys them and turns them into cars like this.
Not to say this was one of those cases, as the car had been known in the U.S. prior to it being restored. What’s interesting about this one is that it has a wooden boattail in addition to its two-seat raceabout configuration. But it looks like the entire boattail raceabout body was dropped onto a truck chassis (the body was actually built in the 2010s). It’s a big car and is said to be capable of cruising at 60 mph.
The pre-sale estimate is $66,000-$77,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 3, 2022
Photo – Bonhams
Societa Piemontese Automobili was founded in Italy by Matteo Ceirano and Michele Ansaldi in 1906. The Ceirano family was involved in various early Italian marques, including Itala, SCAT, Ceirano, and others. S.P.A. was taken over in 1925 by Fiat, who phased the marque out.
S.P.A. had some sporting credentials, winning the Targa Florio in 1909. This 25HP model is powered by a 4.4-liter inline-four. The bodywork, while sporty, is described in the auction catalog as a passenger car with a speedster-style body. The coachbuilder is unknown.
This car was delivered new in France and later spent time in the Le Mans Museum before being purchased by its current owner in the 1990s. Not many S.P.A. cars still exist, and this one appears rather nice. It is expected to sell for between $230,000-$270,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Newport, Rhode Island | October 1, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
The Silver Ghost was the first giant Rolls-Royce. It’s the car that put them at the top of the heap when it came to luxury and engineering. It was produced between 1907 and 1926, and the company churned out 7,874 examples in that time.
This car is powered by a 7.4-liter inline-six rated at 40/50 horsepower. 1913 was the first year that a four-speed manual transmission was offered. The “London to Edinburgh” name is tied to a test the company undertook in ~1907 when they drove a 40/50HP (before the Silver Ghost name came about) from London to Edinburgh in top gear the whole way, stopping at Brooklands on the way back to hit 78 mph.
The London-Edinburgh model specified an enlarged fuel tank and radiator, lightweight pistons, and an increased compression ratio. Rolls-Royce sold 188 examples in this spec, and this is one of very few with a four-speed gearbox.
The original coachwork (a Torpedo Tourer by Connaught) was removed during WWI and replaced by a wagon body for use during the war. The car was sold at a military surplus auction at the end of the war. It later made its way to Australia where it was rebodied as a tourer. Later in the decade, the car was used as a tow truck before being purchased by a Silver Ghost collector, who rebodied it in 1964 with the current body, which was originally fitted to a Sunbeam.
It was restored between 2001 and 2017 and now looks pretty menacing. The solid black disc covers over the black wire wheels are the best touch of them all. The pre-sale estimate is $1,450,000-$1,850,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
1913 Sizaire-Berwick 60HP Limousine by Labourdette
Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | June 20, 2021
Photo – Aguttes
Sizaire-Berwick was founded in Paris but was financed in England. The chassis and engines were manufactured in the Courbevoie factory, and they were bodied in England, where most of the cars were to be sold. Maurice and Georges Sizaire had previously founded Sizaire-Naudin, and they teamed up with Frederick Berwick (the British importer of CorreLa Licorne) in 1913 (the year after they left Sizaire-Naudin).
The company managed to churn out 139 examples before WWI started. They were powered by a Maurice Sizaire-designed 4.1-liter inline-four that made 60 horsepower when new. Those 139 chassis built before the war? Well most ended up bodied for the British military as armored cars.
This one, by some miracle, ended up bodied by Labourdette. It’s never been restored and has spent time on museum duty after staying disassembled with its first owner (at a castle, naturally) until 1968. It’s kind of unusual for its time in that it has an electric starter and completely closed bodywork.
After WWI, there ended up being British and French-built Sizaire-Berwick cars. Things got confusing and messy, and the marque disappeared after 1927. This car is expected to sell for between $100,000-$145,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 11, 2020
Photo – Bonhams
There’s nothing quite like a big WWI-era touring car. Especially when it comes from a company like Locomobile, who built some of America’s best cars prior to World War One. This is a Model 38, which was produced between 1913 through 1918.
In 1913, it was the company’s largest offering. Power is from a 7.0-liter inline-four that was rated at about 50 horsepower when new. At least seven body styles were offered by the factory, and this large touring car (its wheelbase is just two inches shorter than that of a 2020 Suburban) seats five.
It was restored in the 1960s and has been used extensively since, including on a 600+ mile event in 2017. It is now expected to bring between $240,000-$260,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 5, 2020
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Hispano-Suiza had only been around for about eight years when they introduced the Alfonso XIII in 1912. Named for the King of Spain (who enjoyed and purchased their cars), the Alfonso is considered to be one of the first sports cars. Not all of them were sporty, however.
Power is supplied by a 3.6-liter inline-four good for 64 horsepower. This car rides on the long-wheelbase chassis and carries a reproduction boattail body. A two-seater body dating back to at least the 1920s accompanies the car and is believed to be the car’s original.
Ownership history is known back to the early 1920s, when it was bought by a university student in England, who would own the car until his death in 1978. It’s only had three owners since. This is one of the best cars of its era, and it’s rare to see such a fine example changing hands. You can see more about it here and more from RM in Paris here.
