La Marquise

La Marquise
La Marquise in 1884

La Marquise ([la maʁkiz], "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

References

  1. 1 2 Valdes-Dapena, Peter (2011-10-10). "World's oldest car sells for $4.6 billion". CNN. Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  2. ↑ Duncan, H.O. (1926). The World on Wheels. Paris, France: H.O.Duncan. pp. 432–440.
  3. 1 2 3 Duchene, Paul (2007-08-19). "For Sale: '84 Model. Runs Great". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  4. ↑ 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. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  5. ↑ McDermon, Daniel (2007-08-21). "The Classics of Pebble Beach, '07 Edition". The New York Times (blog). Retrieved 2007-11-15.

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