LOT 721

1912 Mors 2½-Litre Décapotable Project Registration no. BF 8576 Chassis no. 12124

Estimate: £18,000 - £22,000

Lot 721

1912 Mors 2½-Litre Décapotable Project
Registration no. BF 8576 Chassis no. 12124

The Beaulieu Sale: Collectors' Motor Cars & Motorcycles and Automobilia|7 September 2019, 16:00 BST|Beaulieu, National Motor Museum

1912 Mors 2½-Litre Décapotable Project
Registration no. BF 8576
Chassis no. 12124

*Pioneering French make
*Right-hand drive
*Unfinished project
*Offered for completion

Footnotes

"They were sold in England by Malcolm Campbell who raced one at Brooklands, but despite front-wheel brakes from 1921, a handsome vee-radiator and wire wheels, they did not find many buyers in either England or France." – The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automoble.

Mors, founded at the end of the 19th Century by Émile Mors, was one of France's most prominent makes of the Edwardian era, having forged its reputation in the heat of competition. Mors was a firm believer in racing's technological and promotional benefits, and the company participated in many events in its early years. In 1901 Henri Fournier won both the prestigious Paris-Berlin and Paris-Bordeaux long-distance races driving a 10-litre 60 horsepower V4-cylinder Mors, which by then had been equipped with pneumatic shock absorbers. The company survived near bankruptcy in 1908 and began to prosper again under the management of André Citroën, who had been brought in to sort out the mess. Under Citroën's leadership sales doubled between 1909 and 1910 thanks to the introduction of smaller and less expensive models, which gradually supplanted the chain-driven leviathans for which Mors is best remembered.

Knight-type sleeve-valve engines, supplied by Minerva (which had a financial stake in Mors) were adopted from 1913 and would power all Mors motor cars after The Great War. Sadly, by the early 1920s Mors' star was fading fast and in 1925 the company went into liquidation, its factory in Paris being taken over by Citroën.

This rare example of one of Mors smaller pre-WWI models was purchased from a Belgian specialist dealer in December 2015 by the late David Meredith Price, who commenced a full restoration but sadly passed away before its completion. The car's mechanical condition is not known and thus it is sold strictly as viewed. An exciting opportunity for the dedicated enthusiast.

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