Arguably one of the most successful supercars of the pre WWI era is the Mercer Raceabout. Being the iconic brass time race car it is also the daddy-toy which has been replicated most. In sizes ranging from Matchbox to scale 1:32, to scale 1:16 and yes of course 1:1 replicas as well. But in the end you want to go beyond your fantasy, you only want the real thing... It may be clear that it takes an expert car historian to tell you which ones are fully authentic and which ones aren't. And no wonder the price of the real-real thing - if ever available - is deep into the 7 digit numbers. When you started saving 50 years ago you most probably will never be able to buy one. So you were either born rich or you are a Warren Buffett adept or you bought this 1912 Type 35C Raceabout sixty years ago. At least that weas what David Uihlein did. He paid US$ 500 in cash (check the receipt) for the car which was in need for a lot of TLC. Back then already he joined the exclusive (and small!) club for owners of Mercer Raceabouts. Today it is nearly impossible to find or buy a Mercer Raceabout. The expected hammerprice is between 2 and 3 million dollars which is a lot of money. But hey, maybe people will look back at that figure as a steal... sixty years from now.
October 18, Dragone Classic Auctions