Vehicle Description
To be OFFERED AT AUCTION at Auctions America’s Auburn Fall event, September 1-4, 2016.
Estimate:
$ 40,000 - $ 60,000 US
Antiquity shows that D. Napier & Son Limited was a British engine and pre-Great War motorcar manufacturer from the Brass Era and would become a well-respected marque on both sides of the Atlantic. Napier would have a successful, albeit short-lived racing career and would continue on until the mid-20th Century as one of the most important engine manufacturers in the aircraft industry. Motor yachts would also be a part of their industry.
A 1902 Gordon Bennett Cup victory would stand as the first British victory in international motorsports and would not be repeated until Henry Segrave won the 1923 French Grand Prix aboard a Sunbeam. Along with the racing program, Napier also gained fame in 1904 by being the first car to cross the Canadian Rockies. Napier also inspired Charles J. Glidden to create the Glidden Tours in upstate New York, which in turn persuaded Napier to build a factory in Boston, Massachusetts. The American Napier would be built in the small facility in Boston in 1904-05 and would move to a larger facility in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts from 1905 to 1912 with various licensing partners with the English firm.
A very interesting and rare automobile is seen with this unique “Garden Car.” It is reported as being fitted to the chassis of one of British Napier’s and the hand-crafted wicker bodywork is stated to have been created at the Royal Institute for the Blind in Notthingham, England. The story that accompanies this motorcar is that it was that it was often utilized to gather flowers and to transport its passengers to fair-weather outdoor social events such as picnics, garden parties, afternoon tea or to use it as a spectator's perch during a fox hunt. The car came from an established collection that was covered in a past press article in the following terms: “Probably the rarest machine is the 1911 Napier Garden Car. The basic Napier was a spirited British automobile often used for racing. The roofless car sports a wicker body built by the Royal Institute for the Blind. Needless to say, not too many of this model were built or survived.”
The unique right-hand drive Napier is powered by a 2,720-cc, 15-hp inline four-cylinder engine that is backed by a three-speed manual transmission. The Napier shows signs of being used and enjoyed and is reported to have been exercised on a regular basis. It is thought to have been restored in the 1970s and features wicker seats and landaulette-type top. Many prominent brass details include vintage Lucas Kings Road brass kerosene headlamps, as well as Landalite cowllamps, and a rubber bulb operated brass horn. The radiator shell is also presented in polished brass, along with the adjustable windshield and the stanchions that support the windscreen to the frame. There is a driver’s side sidemount, the fenders are open and the wire wheels are fitted with blackwall tires.
With safety in mind, a pair of auxiliary electric driving lamps was mounted low on the front of the chassis to offer a dependable lighting backup. The wicker work is offered as being in “outstanding condition” with the comfortable seat pads readily removable for cleaning. A most unusual and recognized car, this Napier has great potential for invitations for display or to be enjoyed in the same gentle social manner from which it was originally intended.
