Mercer, Stutz and Great Gatsby

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The 2015 Greenwich Car Event Weekend Auction is being held by Dragone Auctions on Saturday May 30th at their facility in Westport, Connecticut and cars on offer range from a diminutive 1915 Briggs & Stratton Flyer to a glorious 1911 Mercer Type 35 Toy Tonneau.

The Mercer is still as fabulous today as when it was restored back in 1960 and is a wonderfully original example of the make of car that was famous for racing success which was achieved in a standard car straight from the show room. Once you settle into the leather upholstery and grasp the man-size steering wheel you reach up, turn your cap back to front Barney Oldfield-style, and drive like you’re fighting off Earl Cooper in the Stutz back in 1913 at the Corona race track in California.

If you’d rather be in a Stutz, then how about the 1913 Bearcat Series B with its lusty 60HP T-Head engine which spent many years languishing on a Montana ranch pumping water round the property. In a time when most cars had enough trouble just getting around town, the Stutz could be driven pedal-to-the-metal for 500 miles and earned the reputation for ' being the most feared competitor on the race track.’

A car’s success is built upon its reputation and we enjoyed reading how the 1915 Pathfinder Daniel Boone Touring got its name. Built to compete with Cadillac, the Pathfinder was a motorcar of unquestioned superiority with fine engineering and structurally sound components that equalled that of Rolls-Royce’s Silver Ghost.  Indeed, advertising for the Pathfinder was directly aimed at society’s finest when their catalogue stated, “When Pathfinder the Great rules the Garage, the family is usually worth knowing.”  There are very few known Pathfinder cars in existence, and this could quite possibly be the only Daniel Boone model known.

 This auction really does open a window onto a wealthy society in ‘30s America and the 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom lll played its part helping Tommy Manville live the life of a playboy and provide Scott Fitzgerald with the impetus to write his novel ‘The Great Gatsby.’ He married 11 times ( the 7th lasting just eight hours ) and owned 5 Rolls Royce cars. The new owner will have something to live up to!

Just out of a fifty-year ownership and in unbelievable all-original condition is this 1924 Auburn 6-63 Sport Touring with identical engine to a Stutz Speedway Six. The action of the door closing is good as new and testament to quality workmanship and you will need no other excuse for a drive than to sit on the comfortable, original leather seats. 

 Text Robin Batchelor, pictures courtesy Dragone auctions.

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