Sunday, January 15, 2012

World's Oldest Running Car is sold at Auction in Hershey, PA

World's Oldest Running Car Fetches $4.62M

Oldest Running Car Fetches $4.62M October 10 2011 at 10:05am By Motoring Staff

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This is the oldest motor vehicle car in the world that still runs.

It was built one year before Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler invented

the internal combustion engine.

The world's oldest running motor vehicle has been sold at auction

for an astonishing $4.62 million (R36.5-million), more than double the

pre-sale estimate, as two bidders chased the price up in a three-minute

bidding war. The 1884 De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam

Runabout drew a standing ovation as it was driven up onto the stage at

Friday's RM Auction in Hershey, Pennsylvania - to prove that this

127-year-old car really does run! - and attracted a starting bid of $500 000,

which was immediately doubled to $1 million. Encouraged by the

applauding crowd, the bidding went swiftly up to $4.2 million (R33 million)

- 4.62 million (R36.5 million) including the 10 percent commission - before

the car was knocked down to a unnamed buyer. The Dos-a-Dos

(Back-to-Back) Steam Runabout was built in 1884 by George Bouton and

Charles-Armand Trepardoux for French entrepreneur Count de Dion, who

named it 'La Marquise' after his mother. In 1887, with De Dion at the tiller,

it won the world's first ever motor race (it was the only entrant to make

the start line!) covering the 32km from the Pont de Neuilly in Paris to

Versailles and back in one hour and 14 minutes (an average of

25.9km/h) and, according to contemporary reports, hitting a breathtaking

60km/h on the straights! La Marquise has only had four owners,

remaining in one family for 81 years, and has been restored twice, once

by the Doriol family and again by British collector Tom Moore in the early

1990's. Since then, it has taken part in four London-to-Brighton runs and

collected a double gold at the 1997 Pebble Beach d'Elegance in California.

Count de Dion winning the first ever motor race.



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