- Rare Kelsey Motorette
- Built in Hartford, Connecticut
- Quality restoration
Cadwallader Washburn Kelsey was a visionary. Alas, his visions
never really took hold, but along the way he left some very
interesting machines. His first car was a two-cycle,
single-cylinder affair that proved to be a failure, but he kept
many of the parts. Enamored of the L�on Boll�e tricycle, he joined
with a classmate, Sheldon Tilney, to build a three-wheel car called
the Autotri. He became an agent for Autocar in Pennsylvania and
continued to build cars of his own design before selling Maxwells
and then becoming sales manager for Columbia in Hartford,
Connecticut. In 1910 he attempted a startup with the Spartan car at
Hartford but ended after a single prototype.
It was the Motorette that finally went into production. Kelsey, who
preferred to be called "Carl," again embraced the three-wheel
formula, with a single rear wheel and a two-stroke 10 hp engine.
After air-cooling proved insufficient, he switched to thermo-syphon
water cooling and birthed the Motorette at $385 F.O.B. Hartford.
With a 74-inch wheelbase, it weighed just 700 pounds and was
advertised with the slogan "No roads too rough, no hills too high."
Production extended from 1911 to 1914.
Purchased by the Merrick Auto Museum in 2007, the Motorette being
offered here has been restored in a yellow-over-orange motif. The
seat is upholstered by buttoned black leather. The car has Solar
brass kerosene sidelamps and taillight. The water-cooled 10 hp
engine drives through a two-speed planetary gearbox to the rear
wheel via a Whitney roller chain. The radiator is mounted behind
the seat. In the absence of a stamped manufacturer's plate, the
chassis number was assigned by the Maryland Motor Vehicle
Administration.
Total production of the Kelsey Motorette was barely 200 cars, so
survivors are very scarce. This car represents a rare
opportunity.To view this car and others currently consigned to this
auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/hf19.
