Well, somebody did at a recent auction in the US, to buy the world’s oldest running car for a cool $4.5 million. The car was an 1884 model De Dion, setting a new record for a car of its vintage.
The De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout – started off at $500,000 before immediately jumping to $1.0 m, with the final bid being $4.2 million but the lucky new owner had additional charges and auction house fees 10 percent on top of that to secure the transaction at the RM Auctions Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Priceless!
The provenance of the car showed it was originally commissioned by French entrepreneur Count de Dion, and was affectionately known as “La Marquise” after the Count’s mother. The car was one of the participants in the first car race in 1887, reaching top speeds of about 60 km/h on straight sections.
The purchaser becomes just the fifth owner of the car in its 127 year old history.
