1922 Locomobile Model 48 Sportif

525ci T-Head Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Carburetor
Est 95hp
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Leaf Spring Suspension
4-Wheel Mechanical Drum Brakes

*Hidden away in a Pebble Beach garage for decades
*One of the most exclusive and expensive cars of its day
*Highly advanced and powerful technical specification
*Largely original example of one of America's finest motorcars


THE LOCOMOBILE MODEL 48 SPORTIF

The Model 48 was designed by Andrew Riker and introduced in 1911. It would remain in production almost until the end of the marque's existence, yet today very few survive. Of undoubted quality and construction, some maintain that the Model 48's low survival rate was due to the quality materials lavished upon it. Old Locomobile 48s were simply too valuable as scrap to be preserved as old automobiles.

The centerpiece of Riker's Locomobile 48 was its 6-cylinder engine, a massive affair with bore and stroke dimensions of 4½" x 5½". The iron T-head cylinders were cast in pairs and bolted to a bronze crankcase, which contained a drop-forged alloy steel crankshaft that was both statically and dynamically balanced and rode in seven main bearings. An aluminum intake manifold mated up with a bronze-bodied carburetor while the gearbox casing was cast in manganese bronze. The exhaust valves were chrome-cobalt steel. Coil and battery ignition ignite dual ignition through a pair of 6-cylinder distributors. It stood by 4-speed transmissions when all competitors had only three forward speeds. There were no shortcuts taken in the Model 48's materials, construction methods or finishes.

Most coachwork designs came from Locomobile's own Custom Body Department under the direction of former Kellner designer J. Frank de Causse. The most elegant of all de Causse's designs was the "Sportif" Tourer. Perfectly complementing the Model 48's strength and quality, it is a classic expression of restrained elegance. Its style, quality, performance and reliability explain why this magnificent automobile stayed in the Locomobile catalog for a decade and a half.


THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

This 1922 Locomobile Model 48 Sportif Tourer is one of few original, largely preserved survivors of this early American car. Interestingly, this Model 48 has been tucked away in a little garage in Pebble Beach for several decades, just miles from the Eighteenth's Fairway, home of the Annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The consignor - a lifelong classic car afficionado, collector and historian - purchased the powerful Locomobile from long-time storage in a Stockton warehouse, having previously been owned by a prominent Bay Area family in the department store business. The car does not appear to ever have been fully restored, possibly just cosmetically refreshed many years ago. Displaying a lovely patina to the Grey and Black Tourer bodywork, it is indeed a very important early luxury car, hidden from public's eye for many years.