Posted on 10/10/2011 1:44:00 PM PDT by bkopto
The world's oldest running car, an 1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trapardoux Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout, made history Friday, fetching $4.62 million at RM Auctions' Hershey, Pennsylvania event. Before a packed house, the 127-year-old ride quickly eclipsed its $500,000 starting bid.
By the time the dust had settled, the gavel fell at $4.2 million. The final price included a ten-percent buyer's premium. The crowd began applauding as soon as the car crept onto the stage and the enthusiasm didn't wane until well after the sale.
The Runabout had been in the same family for 81 years prior to the sale, and is one of six De Dion tricycles known to still exist. A total of 20 of the three-wheelers were built. When new, the trike had a top speed of 38 mph and a range of 20 miles on one tank of water. The vehicle that sold last night was the only car to show up for the world's first auto race, where it averaged 16 mph over a 20-mile course.
(Excerpt) Read more at autoblog.com ...
Helen Thomas went out for a date in it............
Maybe GM can reverse engineer it , sell it , and call it a hybrid.
Jay Leno, please pick up the courtesy phone.
Steam trike
my wife has a one-owner, sales receipt, ‘87 olds cutlass 2 door
for sale.
is there a legacy car website?
Ricardo Montelbon would probably love to sing that.
What is a Trapardoux?
I’d put it on eBay. That’s where the action is, unless you take it to one of the auction houses.
On eBay you can search prior auctions and get a feel for similar transactions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUgVCR_658M
(Probably a more efficient process than burning the coal to make electricity, using the electricity to charge batteries and then using the batteries to run an electric motor to move the car!)
My dad had a 77 Seville in good running condition. Doubt it would bring much.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8hucOCTfms
Wonder if I could make a deal assuming if it still for sale and a decision was ever made on a price tag for this old workhorse dad bought a few years back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIbRlsBH0Qk
Meanwhile I slog it out when I am able and have some money on this old rescue jalopy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es2_DaYkmnc
I have a device somewhat like it in obsolesence and present functionality, although it’s not a car. It’s a Curta Calculator that I bought in early 1970 when I began my first private sector job as an attorney doing estates and trusts. It’s an entirely manual device that adds, subtracts, and multiplies out to, IIRC, 12 figures. At the time it cost about $175.00. It became totally obsolete about 2 years later with the introduction of the first electronic calculators. I still have it with its instructions, case, and original box. Since it looks like a combination of a coffee grinder and grenade, I’ve not tried to take it on any air planes.
Or James May?
Oh great now photos will surface of her in this thread..hehehe
I’d be happy with a muscle car.
However, it has been a long time since I studied French...
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