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World's Oldest Running Car Up For Sale

Posted by samzenpus on from the 40-rods-to-the-hogshead dept.

cylonlover writes "A very special car will cross the auctioneers block next month — it's the world's oldest running motor car, a historic 1884 de Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout. The second prototype built by Count de Dion, the car participated in the world's first automobile race, which only attracted one competitor. It completed the course, and although it's arguably not possible to have a race without two competitors, this is the car that 'won' that race, achieving a claimed top speed of 37 mph on the straights."

2 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Leno? More likely some reality show by dr_dank · · Score: 4, Funny

    This car was featured in the popular zoetrope: "Pimpeth Thine Horseless Carriage".

    --
    Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
  2. Re:Bogus! by DRJlaw · · Score: 5, Informative

    The world's oldest running car is an 1830's vintage French steamer, currently on exhibit at the Automobile Museum in St. Petersburg FL.

    The admitted replica?

    Which is of a 1770s vintage French steamer that is not run and itself a frankenbuilt reconstruction of the vehicle?

    Yet the boiler of the Conservatoireâ(TM)s fardier today is clearly under-specified, too small, and without any means to top it up with water. The cylinders are uncharacteristically poorly made and thereâ(TM)s no safety valve fitted to the boiler, even though a valve was known to be a necessity even back in 1770. And there are also discrepancies between descriptions and drawings made around 1770, and those made once the fardier was installed in the museum.

    Alain was baffled but intrigued. He went back to his research and found a comment from the 18th century relating how looters (after scrap metal) were chased from the arsenal. It seems the bronze cylinders and distributor were stolen and almost certainly remade by the museum many years later.

    But what of the clearly inefficient boiler and the apparently redundant leaf spring? Alain suggests that, following the infamous accident, the original â" and now damaged â" boiler might have been swapped for the smaller experimental boiler from the 1769 fardier, and reassembled incorrectly with the chimneys back to front. It seems feasible, as does his theory that the accident was caused by someone inadvertently operating the regulator lever while the fardier was steaming up.

    Running car my hiney.