Present ownership since 1966
1901 De Dion Bouton 4½hp Type G Double Phaeton

• Present ownership since 1966
• Veteran Car Club Dated, Certificate number 890
• Former three-time London-Brighton Veteran Car Run participant in 1964, 1965 and 1966
• Featured on the cover of Veteran and Vintage Magazine, August 1967
• Currently not road registered

Today De Dion Bouton is by far the most popular London-Brighton Run marque, its cars being attractive, light in weight, simply constructed and a joy to drive. One of the most popular and usable forms of De Dion were their first series of four wheeled voiturettes, with the majority wearing spartan coachwork of two benches of facing seats. Nicknamed simply as 'Vis-à-vis', these were not one but a series of models, D, E, G and L, progressively developed from their introduction in late 1899 through to 1902, with engine sizes increasing from 3.5hp to 4.5hp, and finally 6hp, as well as increasingly improved braking set-ups!
But, while the 'face to face' bodies are the best known, there were also a variety of ways in which they received coachwork, some being used for commercial purposes, period images even show rather over-bodied 'top hat' Doctor's coupes... Of those that survive, by far the rarest variant is the 'Avant' or front controlled voiturette of which there are less than a handful recorded today. The car on offer is one of those ultra rare examples, which has led a secluded life preserving its integrity on many levels.

It has been 57 years since the current owner, a renowned German private collector, purchased this De Dion on 4 November 1966 at an auction held in the United Kingdom. The catalogue of the time stated that it had been kept by its first owner from 1901 to 1935 and had received a West Suffolk registration number, starting with CF, when it was recommissioned after the First World War. Its next owners were the Gardiners of Long Melford, also in Suffolk, and G.B. Corser, who restored the car and sold it in 1964, being unable to drive it for health reasons. Its purchasers completed its mechanical restoration and presented the car at the Crystal Palace Rally of the Veteran Car Club in 1964, where it received a prize in the Concours d'Elégance.
It then took part in the 1964, 1965 and 1966 editions of the famous London to Brighton Run, notably with P.S. Reynolds at its wheel, in the company of three passengers, appearing on board in the November or December 1965 issue of Autocar magazine. In the 1965 edition of the London to Brighton Run, our De Dion Bouton set off along with 228 other teams, including numerous distinguished personalities from the automotive world, of which 199 finished the race. Our De Dion Bouton finished the race without problems in six hours and two minutes. It was then put up for sale in 1966 by R. Lewis and J. Fenton who, according to the description in the sales catalogue of the time, reserved the right to take part in the London to Brighton Run themselves in 1966, to hand the car over to the new -and current- owner only after completing the race, two days after the auction.
The De Dion Bouton starred on the cover of the August 1967 issue of Veteran and Vintage Magazine, which had already presented and illustrated the car in its December 1966 Christmas special issue, following the auction.

Since its acquisition at auction, the car remained in the current owner's major and beloved collection inside his house in Germany. It should be noted that the CF number it wore was later reattributed to another car in the UK, and it does not come with any registration document. Fully functional when placed in the bar of his house the car will again be in running condition after a service having not run under its own power in so many years. Fresh to the market this desirable and rare version of the De Dion Bouton 4 1/2 HP Model G double phaeton would make an interesting addition to the collection of a discerning collector and obviously provide an early start to any future participation in the LBVCR.