Many thanks to Agent 6 for sending us photos and information on this 1884 motor vehicle, the oldest automobile still in running order. And guess what? It's not an early experiment by Henry Ford. It's French!
This steam-powered "Two by Two" was built in 1884 by Georges Bouton and Charles-Armand Trépardoux, according to plans made by the Count of Dion, who gave it the name "La Marquise" (his mother's noble title). The engine, known now as the De Dion-Bouton, is considered the first high-speed lightweight internal combustion engine. It has since been licensed to over 150 manufacturers worldwide.
In 1887, with the Count himself at the "tiller" (the steering device), "La Marquise" won the first automobile race from le Pont de Neuilly in Paris to Versailles and return, a distance of 20 miles, which the winner covered in one hour and 14 minutes, with an average speed of around 15 mph. A contemporary report said the car reached a straight-line speed of 40 mph!
"La Marquise" has had four owners, staying in one family for 81 years. She waqs restored twice, first by the Doriol family, then, in the early 1990s, by an English collector named Tom Moore. After that last restoration, she participated four times in the London-Brighton race. In 1997, she won the gold medal in the Pebble Beach concours d'élégance.
Most recently, "La Marquise" changed hands at an auction in Pennsylvania $4.62 million (including taxes). Walt wishes her (and her owners) a still longer life!
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