The world’s oldest running car

You could become only the fifth person to own the 1884 De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout – the world’s oldest running car – when it goes under the hammer in Pennsylvania in the United States next week (6-7 October). With just four owners from new and one of them taking care of it for 81 years, this car must boast the most impressive provenance in motoring history. It was commissioned by French entrepreneur, Count de Dion, and built by Georges Bouton and Charles-Armand Trepardoux. It was nicknamed ‘La Marquise’ after the Count de Dion’s mother.

La Marquise competed in the very first car race in 1887, clocking up a heady top speed of 37mph on the straights. But it didn’t stop there. The car has recently completed four London to Brighton runs, being the first car under starters orders as the oldest car in the rally.

What makes La Marquise truly special is that it is a steam car. In the days before the internal combustion engine became ubiquitous, steam cars were being developed alongside internal combustion engine cars and for a while were more efficient and broke land speed records. The steam engine is an external combustion engine and can be configured for very low emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and unburned carbon in the exhaust, making it much more environmentally friendly than petrol-powered internal combustion engine cars.

Over the last century attempts have been made to develop modern steam cars, most recently by Enginion AG, a subsidiary of Volkswagen in the 1990s. They developed a system called ZEE (Zero Emissions Engine) which produced steam almost instantly. Sadly, it hasn’t gone into production. But if the world wasn’t ready then for steam cars it may want to have another look after Charles Burnett III broke the world land speed record for a steam-powered vehicle with an average speed of 139.8mph over two consecutive runs over a measured mile at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert in California, in August 2009. The next day Don Wales, the grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell, achieved an average speed of 148.308mph, setting a new land speed record for steam cars over a measured kilometre.

‘La Marquise’ may not be capable of those heady speeds but at least you can take your family out with you. It seats four people back to back (hence dos-a-dos), though it might not meet the safety standards of today’s family cars as the seats are located on top of the steel water tank. This tank holds 40 gallons of water, making it good for a run of 20 miles before you need to fill up again. But once you’ve filled up, you will have to wait a little while to get going again as the boiler, which is fed by coal or coke, takes 45 minutes to get up to steam.

If you’re interested in early models of environmentally friendly cars you may want to pop along to RM Auctions’ sale in Hershey, Pennsylvania next week. The sale will also feature a fascinating collection of early electric vehicles, including a 1903 Columbia Electric Surrey, the only known survivor; a rare Swiss-built 1905 Tribelhorn Electric Brougham and an unusual 1913 Argo Electric Fore-Drive Limousine. But if you want to bid on any of these cars you will need a spare hundred thousand or so dollars. And if you fancy pootling along in La Marquise at the next London to Brighton run, then you’ll need a couple of million dollars in your wallet.

For full event details, a complete list of auction offerings or to view the digital catalogue, visit www.rmauctions.com or call +1 519 352 4575.

Photo courtesy RM Auctions.