- Stylish period speedster
- Quality restoration
- From the last year of production
The Abbott Motor Car Company was established in 1909 in Detroit.
The founder was Charles G. Abbott, and the cars were utterly
conventional for their day. The engines came from Continental,
though in later years some Herschell-Spillman eights were employed.
For most of the marque's lifetime, the cars were called
"Abbott-Detroit," although by 1916 they were officially just
"Abbotts."
Motor sports and promotional stunts were an integral part of the
marketing strategy. One of these events was a 100,000-mile trek of
the Abbott-Detroit "Bull Dog," driven by Dr. Charles G. Percival,
editor of Health Magazine, circumnavigating the United States, then
traveling coast to coast three times "over the vilest roads the
country possesse[d]." Another car took the Philadelphia Trophy at
that city's Fairmount Park track in 1910. A sprightly Battleship
roadster was produced in 1913, the year Edward F. Gerber bought the
company, but was replaced by R.A. Palmer, former manager for
Cartercar, two years later. The company name was changed to
Consolidated Car Corporation, and in 1916, manufacturing was moved
to Cleveland, but only lasted until October 1917.
A tidy older restoration, this 1917 Abbott bears the older
Abbott-Detroit nameplate. It is tan with pleated brown leather
upholstery; the undersurface of the fenders matches the deep red
hue of the chassis. The engine is Continental's 7W, a
224-cubic-inch L-head six making 36 bhp at 1,600 rpm. It is clean
and utilitarian, without excessive cosmetic detail. Other equipment
includes Flintex headlamps and a MotoMeter on the radiator cap. A
capacious piece of leather luggage nestles between the fuel tank
and rear-mounted spare tire, useful for those who travel on
weekends.
Surviving Abbotts (and Abbott-Detroits) are believed to hover in
single or barely double-digit numbers. This car represents a rare
chance to acquire one.To view this car and others currently
consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/hf19.
