Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 92
c.1904 Pope-Toledo Two-Seat Racer Engine no. 1-24-755
Estimate: US$200,000 - US$300,000
Lot 92
c.1904 Pope-Toledo Two-Seat Racer
c.1904 Pope-Toledo Two-Seat Racer
Engine no. 1-24-755
Engine no. 1-24-755
Est. 209.8ci Inline 4-Cylinder Engine (See Text)
Est. >24 hp (See Text)
3-Speed Manual Transmission with Double Chain Drive
Front and Rear Semi-Elliptic Leaf Springs
Rear-Wheel Drum Brakes
*Marvelous, evocative machine inspired by original Pope-Toledo racers
*One of the finest American marques of the early Brass Era
*Powerful four-cylinder engine with double chain drive
*Former participant in the Goodwood Festival of Speed
THE COLONEL'S MIGHTY TOLEDO
Colonel Albert Pope established the 'Bicycle Trust,' which in the 1880s and 1890s virtually controlled American production of those two-wheeled conveyances in an era when they were in vogue as one of the most popular forms of transportation. A single-minded individual, not only did Pope buy interest in virtually any and all patents concerning bicycles in the United States, but he spent time and money lavishly in the promotion of their use, including funding court challenges to municipal bicycle bans and petitioning the government to improve roads.
Unsurprisingly, when the winds began to blow toward automobiles in the late 1890s, the Colonel took note, and tackled the burgeoning motorcar industry with the same brio. His first effort was the small Columbia Electric, but he had soon expanded and between 1903 and 1905 operated factories up and down the East Coast and into the Midwest, building the likes of the Pope-Tribune, Pope-Waverly, Pope-Hartford, and Pope-Toledo. Each Pope marque differed, often broadly, from the others, being built by what amounted to its own independent company; but they were all distinguished by exceptional quality and engineering.
Not least among them was the Pope-Toledo, produced in the Ohio industrial city of the same name from 1903 to 1909. The Pope-Toledo was beautifully designed and built, incorporating the best materials into its construction, and was an early American adopter of the French 'Panhard system' layout, with a front-mounted engine driving the rear wheels, as well as four-cylinder engines and double chain drive. It was, in most all its model iterations, a powerful car. In 1905, a purportedly specially tuned Pope-Toledo owned by C. Edward Born was driven by brothers George and Charles Soules in the world's first 24-hour endurance race, held on a dirt track in Columbus, Ohio. Not exactly Le Mans, the event had only three entrants...but the Pope still won, covering 828.5 miles over the span of a day.
The model remains the crown jewel of Colonel Pope's would-be empire. Today the handful of extant Pope-Toledoes reside in some of the world's finest, most selective collections, where they are prized for their marvelous design, construction, and most of all for their power that allows them to challenge virtually comers of their era on tour or hill.
THE CAR OFFERED
According to its restorer, this car incorporates an original, unnumbered 24 HP frame, front axle, and later post-1904 engine that had been owned by period Pope-Hartford racer Herb Lytle, with the engine being of unusual dimensions; while similar in design, when dismantled it reportedly proved of larger displacement than the 'stock' 24 HP engine, indicating it may have been constructed for performance.
These components are said to have passed from Lytle to the noted automotive designer and passionate longtime Horseless Carriage Club of America member, Richard Teague, then to well-known Michigan enthusiast Buck Boudeman, fondly remembered for his passionate acquisition and preservation of early American racing cars. They were finally acquired by a Brass Era specialist who completed the restoration of the car with a new gearbox casing/transaxle and radiator. The bodywork, inspired by Lytle's 1904 Vanderbilt Cup entrant and the car he entered into the Gordon Bennett Cup the following season, incorporates Pope-Toledo's prominent bell-shaped radiator shell and tall hoodline. It is otherwise stripped to the bare essentials, amounting to a pair of low-cut seats for a driver and mechanic, and of course a fuel tank. A dash-mounted Lunkenheimer oiling system with Pope-Toledo badging is present, as is an air gauge and, aft, a Pope-badged fuel filler cap.
In 2000 the car was acquired from its restorer in trade by longtime enthusiast Tim Moore, who undertook a great deal of further mechanical sorting, including rebuilding the gearbox and installing a starter. Subsequent to this work the car was invited by Lord Montagu to be driven up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and it did so both in 2000 and 2001. Mr. Moore then sold it in September 2001 to the noted American collector of Brass Era automobiles, Dick King of Redding, Connecticut, with whom it remained for several years. More recently it has been part of a large collection of early American performance automobiles.
With the double chain drive that is an instant indicator of a true Brass Era performance machine, this remains a very robust performer and highly capable road-eater, with extraordinary kinetic potential visible even when standing still. The temptation to run it up another hill is present from the moment that one slides behind the steering wheel.
Additional information
Looking for a similar item?
Our Cars specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistSpecialist section
Auction Viewings
- 16 August 2023, 09:00 - 18:00 PDT
- 17 August 2023, 09:00 - 18:00 PDT
- 18 August 2023, 08:30 - 11:00 PDT
