World’s oldest car is up for auction (and it’s still running!)
A 127-year old steam-powered car, the 1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trepardoux Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout, will be put up for sale next month in David Goodling’s auction house. Nicknamed “La Marquise”, the car is historically valuable because it was custom made for Count De Dion, and was built some 12 years before Henry Ford assembled his first car.
La Marquise weighs 2,100 pounds, is only nine feet long, and has a maximum speed of 38 miles per hour. It takes a full 45 minutes for it to generate enough steam to be driven. This steam-powered car uses wood, coal and bits of paper.
The car changed hands over the last 100 and so years and had been on the verge of being called junk until a member of the British Veteran Car Club got hold of the car in 1987. The car was then tuned up and La Marquise started functioning again.
The auction house expects La Marquise to fetch up to £1.6 million. Check out photos of the world’s oldest car below:
Via Daily Mail