Offered from the Clem and Mary Lange Collection

1910 National Model 40 "Racer"

447ci T-Head Dual Ignition Inline 4-Cylinder Engine
Single Updraft Linkert Carburetor
40hp (ALAM Rated)
3-Speed Sliding Gear Manual Transmission with Cone Clutch
Front Semi-Elliptic and Rear ¾ Elliptical Leaf Spring Suspension
2-Wheel Rear Drum Brakes

*Restored in the style of Arthur Greiner's 1910 racer
*Many unique competition features
*Eligible for numerous track and tour events
*The quintessential Brass Era race car

THE NATIONAL

Although little known today, the National Motor Vehicle Co. of Indianapolis built some great cars in its time. After staring out with an electric runabout in 1900, the firm was building increasingly large and expensive gasoline-powered cars by 1906. In 1909, Nationals raced, and placed well, on the dirt at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway. When the track surface was covered with 3.2 million bricks, the track earned its long-standing nickname — 'Brickyard'. During the inaugural handicap races in May 1910, 26-year-old amateur driver Arthur Greiner showed up in a stripped down hotted-up National Model 40. Over the course of a series of races ranging in length from five to 200 miles long, Greiner and his National proved their potential earning Greiner the 'best amateur trophy'. National also fielded three cars for the inaugural 500-mile race at the newly brick-paved Indy track in 1911, one of them finishing seventh. In 1912, a National piloted by Joe Dawson won the second annual Indy 500, averaging 78.22mph during the race.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

While there is little in the way of recorded or documented history, the early oral accounts tell a fascinating story. As it is told, following Greiner's success at Indy, the National was sent back to the factory and said to have been fitted with a Speedway Roadster body and sold to a private customer. Back then 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday' wasn't just a hokey motto—it was standard business practice to sell what amounted to full on racers with a touch of bodywork to rich playboys and sportsmen looking for a thrill. That first owner is believed to have been the founder of the National Mining Company—whose company was rumored to have been so named in honor of the '06 National that brought him to Idaho where he struck it big. He is understood to have brought the car up to Calgary, Canada—where his company had a mining operation—and eventually leave it there in storage.

Again, while no documentary evidence survives today to suggest that this was Greiner's racer, in 1959, this National was rediscovered in a barn near Calgary National Mine. Found to be in largely original condition, it had received updates to the bodywork prior to being locked away. A photo of the car as discovered still exists. When disassembled for refurbishment, various elements indicated an early experience as a racer including the drilled chassis cross members, steeply raked steering column, and shorted gear and brake levers. The original fuel and oil tanks were also of large capacity, racing-style varieties.

The National would find its way into the collection of collector Jim Grundy Jr. before entering the garage of fellow Brass Era enthusiast Don Meyer. In Meyer's ownership the National was mechanically restored and returned to a racing configuration. In 2001 the National headed to the United Kingdom to join the collection of Tim Moore. The racer was competitively run up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2002 and 2005, taking the prize for fastest pre-1914 car the first time and narrowly coming in second for the same prize the next time around. The car would again across the Atlantic to Canada before later joining the Clem and Mary Lange Collection in June of 2010.

Looking just as Greiner's car did at Indianapolis in 1910—but now fitted with an electric starter for ease of use, this is a great example of an early American high-performance sports car. Being an Indianapolis-built car makes it all the more historic. Seldom seen and rarely traded publicly, a National has always been considered a great prize for the knowledgeable collector.