A Mystery Electric Landaulet

photo in the author's collection (by Charles Barenne)

I acquired this image along with a couple others recently and after much research I'm still not sure what it is. Thus, if anyone has ideas about the make of this early electric motorcar, please leave me a comment.

What I do know is that on the card the photograph is mounted too, it says "Ch. Barenne, Paris - 27bis Rue Duret (Avenue de la Grande Armee)". This refers to Charles Barenne, a portrait photographer based in Paris, France. Barenne appears to have photographed the well-to-do in Paris as well as the social past-times in vogue at the time (such as cycling and later automobiles). Rue Duret is a residential side-street off the Avenue de la Grande Armee.

Any reference to the make of the car or the people in the photo is not noted. After a bit of looking into the make of the automobile, I can rule out Krieger (a sizable French manufacturer of electric Broughams from 1894-1909) as they used electric motors on the front wheels - which the car in the image does not have. It is also not a Baker, or a Rauch & Lang, or a BSG (another French maker of electric Broughams). I'm also ruling out the English Electromobile.

It's possible that the car is of the City & Suburban Electric Carriage Co., Ltd. - the English licensee of the Electric Vehicle Company's Columbia line. Additionally, it could be the a product of the Gallia Electric Carriage Co. of Paris (you can see one of their ads below). However, I'm leaning toward the Electric Vehicle Company's 1906 Mk LXVII Landaulet. The Eletric Vehicle Company of New York (the conglomerate establish to dominate the electric commercial vehicle market) had a strong presence in Paris around this time.

Now it's your turn to tell me what you think this car might be.

The Gallia Electric (photo credit: Automobile Topics, July 21, 1906)

1956 Arnolt-Bristol Coupe

1956 Arnolt-Bristol Coupe (chassis 404x3120) - from the collection of the author

Conceived by Stanley Arnolt, the Chicago industrialist, the Arnolt-Bristol was built upon the Bristol 404 chassis and running gear. Arnolt had been quite taken with the work of the Bertone carrozzeria at the Paris Salon and commissioned Bertone (Scaglione, Bertone's new designer is responsible for the design) to design a spyder on the Aston Martin DB2/4 chassis, after which Arnolt invested heavily in the company. Arnolt choose Bristol (over Aston Martin) to partner with on a production version of the original Aston Martin / Bertone design. The Arnolt-Bristol was available in three versions: the Bolide (a true spider), the DeLuxe (a roadster with heater, carpets, and roll-up windows), and the Coupe (with much of the same features as the DeLuxe). 

The car pictured here is chassis 404x3120 - the first coupe built and the only one to wear these unique scalloped front fenders. Priced at $6390.00, this car was sold new off the floor of the Paris Salon to actor Lee Marvin. Originally finished in green and red, the car features the Bristol inline six-cylinder (130hp) engine, independent front suspension, and four-wheel drum brakes. It is said that only six Coupes were produced - I'm not sure how many remain, but this must be one of the finest. The current owners purchased the car at auction for only $51,700 (an incredible bargain) from the 2007 RM Auctions' sale of the Ponder Collection. The car sounds as good as it looks.

Chassis 404x3120 prior to it's current restoration (photo credit: Special Interest Autos)

Arnolt-Bristol Brochure

Arizona Auction Week in January.

1910 Simplex 50hp with body by Holbrook (from the author's collection)

Well, I have to start out with an apology to all you faithful blog readers out there - I've been away from the blog for too long! The end of the year has turned out to be a very busy time for me as I help coordinate the Arizona Concours d'Elegance and assist certain of the auction companies. 

However, the Concours is shaping up to be a fantastic event. I hope anyone planning on coming to Arizona in January will schedule time for the Concours - to be held the first Sunday of the week (January 12th) at the Bilmore Hotel. If you haven't purchased your tickets, go to: http://www.arizonaconcours.com. 

Additionally, if you haven't looked at the auction catalogs, I encourage you to do so as there are some fantastic cars being offered this year. Some of my favorites are: Gooding & Co's wonderful 1933 Rolls-Royce PII (a Springfield car) with a Brewster Sports Saloon body: http://www.goodingco.com/vehicle/1933-rolls-royce-phantom-ii-sports-saloon. I believe it is one of three such cars bodied in this style - sometimes referred to as a closed Newmarket. This car wears the later, signature Brewster side sweep and door handles - fantastic.

RM Auctions is featuring a lovely 1915 Pierce-Arrow model 48 Touring and a beautiful 1916 Stutz Bulldog Touring: http://rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1064204. Similar to the Bearcat, the Bulldog "Special" is a longer wheelbase car with the distinctive body separation between the front and rear seats - very handsome.

Our friends at Bonhams have really worked hard to field a significant group of early cars. Not often seen at auction, they have a wonderful 1910 Simplex 50hp Toy Tonneau bodied by Holbrook, as well as the ex-William Harrah 1910 Thomas-Flyer model 6-40 Touring: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21392/. Not quite as large as the model 6-70, the 6-40 is said to be fast and powerful all the same. Incredible to see these two cars in the same sale.

Bring on the New Year!