Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 130
1905 Clement-Bayard 4 Cylinder 20/24HP Touring Car Chassis no. 5451 Engine no. 3276
Sold for US$145,600 inc. premium
Lot 130
1905 Clement-Bayard 4 Cylinder 20/24HP Touring Car
1905 Clement-Bayard 4 Cylinder 20/24HP Touring Car
Chassis no. 5451
Engine no. 3276
Chassis no. 5451
Engine no. 3276
264 ci, T-Head, 4-Cylinder Engine
20-24hp
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear Mechanical Brakes
*Formerly the property of pioneering collector Henry Wing
*Known in club circles since the war
*Regular Concours entrant
*Former award winner at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
*Prestigious and powerful
*Undoubtedly one of the finest examples of the marque extant
*A welcome and capable entrant into a host of Brass-Era tours
*Exquisite European Brass Touring car
THE CLEMENT
Already a successful maker of bicycles and pneumatic tires – he owned the Dunlop patents in France - Adolphe Clément diversified into automobile manufacture in 1899, taking an interest in the existing Gladiator concern. Rear-engined tricycles and quadricycles were made at the Gladiator works in Levallois-sur-Seine before Clément began building a conventional front-engined light car around 1901. Clément's early vehicles were powered by Aster, Panhard and De Dion engines, all three makes being at the forefront of automobile development.
By January 1903 Clément et Gladiator claimed to have an annual capacity of 1,200 cars but in October that year Adolphe Clément broke his connection with the company and set up a new factory in Levallois-Perret. As he was unable to call the cars it built 'Cléments', he adopted the trade name 'Bayard' after a statue of the legendary medieval French hero 'le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche' that stood in front of his branch factory in Mézières in the Ardennes region, and officially changed his name to Clément-Bayard. He also formed a joint venture with the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot to assemble Clément-Bayard cars in London, where they were known as 'Clément-Talbots', eventually becoming the celebrated 'Talbot' marque as assembly developed into manufacture.
Introducing the 1904 'Bayard' range, launched in the autumn of 1903, the French magazine La Vie Automobile wrote: 'Clément is one of the three or four giants of our special world. This man who says little and thinks a lot, whose activity is as great as his daring, is one of the unstoppable forces that drive the stupefying speed that we see in the automobile revolution.'
The Clément-Bayard company was a pioneer of vertical integration, with little reliance on outside suppliers. Casting and rough machining work was carried out at Mézières and bodies were built in coachworks near the Levallois factory. Clément-Bayard's products were well-built and stylish, aimed at the well-to-do middle class, and in 1904 the Levallois-Perret factory employed some 1,600 men who built around 1,200 cars annually.
THE CAR OFFERED
One of the finest examples of its marque anywhere in the world, this exquisitely restored European light touring car exemplifies the refined and sporting nature of France's well advanced motor industry by this era.
Unusually for a European Brass era machine, it seems that this car can trace its ancestry in America to its earliest times. Wearing an original supply plaque from Bowman Automobile Company of New York, it seems likely that it was originally sold through Sidney B. Bowman's dealership in New York City. Endorsing this further is the fact that on its dash it also wears an original 'Automobile Club of America' badge on its dashboard. Established in 1899, The Automobile Club of America was one of the earliest clubs devoted to owners of motorcars and based in New York City, it operated much like other social clubs among the elite of Manhattan. Only its established premises provided garaging and servicing for owners of early automobiles, and from time to time it organized tours and endurance runs including one from New York to Boston. It seems safe to assume that the car was the property of one of those pioneering ACA members, and most probably enjoyed its early years in the 'Tristate' area.
It must have been cherished and well looked after by its early owners, for when the car surfaced in the 1940s, photos of its finding depict it in remarkable original condition, scruffy and with tired upholstery, but nonetheless seemingly entirely complete. Its discovery was at the hands of one of the second generation of motoring pioneers, those that created the hobby that we know today. That gentleman was Henry C. Wing Jr. of Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Henry Wing was responsible for a sympathetic refurbishment in the late 1950s and after that used it on a regular basis. Photos on file show it in active use at events in this era.
In the mid-1980s, the car passed into the present ownership, where it has shared stable with others of its marque and numerous exceptionally fine brass era motorcars. In the course of this custody, it has been shown at a number of shows, including the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it achieved a Second in Class placing, testifying to its quality of presentation.
Bonhams is honored to offer this fabulous brass car for sale, which can provide its next owner with continued show success or road touring with clubs such as the Horseless Carriage Club.
Footnotes
Please note, this vehicle is titled with the engine no. 3276
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
- 14 August 2024, 09:00 - 18:00 PDT
- 15 August 2024, 09:00 - 18:00 PDT
- 16 August 2024, 08:30 - 11:00 PDT
Bid now on these items
United Kingdom
1911 Delaunay-Belleville 26HP Tourer
£70,000 - £100,000
