I’ll admit that even as a car enthusiast, some parts of automotive history escape me. A big gray area for me is pre-WWII stuff; early automotive history. While I’d be hard-pressed to name some of the more obscure models from this time, one car from the period I never even knew existed just sold for a record setting price.
By most accounts, most people credit the invention of the automobile to Karl Benz, one-half of what would eventually become Mercedes-Benz. One of the predecessors to the company was DMG or Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft which by 1902 had been making cars for over a decade (the company was founded in 1890). That same year DMG introduced the Simplex. The Simplex was a massive car that came with powerful engines. It quickly became a favorite of the wealthy.
A so-called early performance model of the Simplex was the 60 HP model. Powered by a massive 9.3-liter four-cylinder engine, the 60 HP became a favorite of enthusiasts and racers. The 60 HP even set a record at the Mount Washington Hillclimb Race in Mount Washington, New Hampshire in 1904. There, it ran the hillclimb in 24:37. It’s said that only 102 of the 60 HP were ever made.
Now, over 120 years later, the 60 HP set another record. Southern California-based classic car auction house Gooding & Company recently had the rare opportunity of having a 60 HP cross their auction block. Gooding & Company described the 60 HP that the company auctioned as “undoubtedly among the most significant cars to come to market in recent memory.” And for good reason: of the 102 made, just four exist today, and this example was well preserved and had a unique history. It was owned by British newspaper and publishing magnate Alfred Harmsworth, founder of the Daily Mail.
This history and its excellent condition helped push the price of the 60 HP to new levels. Gooding & Company says the 60 HP sold for a whopping $12,105,000. Not only is this a record for the first antique vehicle to sell for more than $10,000,000, it’s all a world record-setting price for all vehicles from before 1930 according to Gooding & Company. While we usually balk at cars going for prices like this, this is an exception. With just four left in the world, this 60 HP is truly a piece of history