Engineering:La Marquise
La Marquise (fr, "The Marchioness") is the world's oldest running automobile, as of 2011[1] (but the passenger-carrying Grenville steam carriage of 1875 is older). It was made in 1884 or 1885 by the French company Trépardoux et Cie, (later De Dion-Bouton) financed and led by Count de Dion. The car was one of a series of prototype quadricycles and tricycles which de Dion built from 1883 - 1888. The name is not contemporary: there was nothing exceptional about the vehicle when built; de Dion's parents disapproved strongly of his fraternising with tradesmen and took legal action to stop him dissipating the family fortune.[2]
In 1887, the magazine le Vélo organised a race from Paris-to-Versailles and back (20 miles; 32 km). La Marquise was the only vehicle which took part.[3] It made the round trip at an average speed of 25.5 km/h (15.8 mph; 7.1 m/s). The following year, he beat Bouton in a three-wheeler with an average speed of 29 km/h (18 mph; 8.1 m/s).[3]
Fueled by coal, wood and pieces of paper, the car takes 30–40 minutes to build up enough steam to drive. Her top speed is 61 km/h (38 mph; 17 m/s).[4]
As the oldest car, it wore the number "0" in the 1996 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.[3] The vehicle was sold at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance for $3.52 million.[5] It sold again in 2011 for $4.6 million, a record price for an early automobile.[1]
See also
- History of the automobile
- De Dion-Bouton
- American De Dion (automobile)
- Delamare-Deboutteville
- List of automobile sales by model
- Most expensive cars sold in auction
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Valdes-Dapena, Peter (2011-10-10). "World's oldest car sells for $4.6 billion". CNN. https://money.cnn.com/2011/10/10/autos/worlds_oldest_car/. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
- ↑ Duncan, H.O. (1926). The World on Wheels. Paris, France: H.O.Duncan. pp. 432-440.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Duchene, Paul (2007-08-19). "For Sale: '84 Model. Runs Great". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/automobiles/collectibles/19OLDEST.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- ↑ Valdes-Dapena, Peter (2007-06-28). "World's oldest car for sale: Steam-powered 1884 car will be auctioned at Pebble Beach in August". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/06/25/worlds_oldest_car/index.html. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- ↑ McDermon, Daniel (2007-08-21). "The Classics of Pebble Beach, '07 Edition". The New York Times (blog). http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/the-classics-of-pebble-beach-07-edition/. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
External links
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