For Sale at Auction: 1961 Nash Metropolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada

Chassis No. E92431

According to period marketing, the Metropolitan was created as a "completely new and different kind of automobile" that promised record-breaking economy and performance. While large Cadillacs and Lincolns began to rule the proposed highways of the Eisenhower Interstate System, the growing cities and suburbs of post-war America gave the Nash Motor Company the idea for an economical transportation alternative. What they created for 1954 as both a Hardtop and Convertible was the first subcompact automobile offered in the U.S.

Hailing from the penultimate 1961 model year and built in August 1960 as a Convertible model, this delightful Nash Metropolitan is a late Series IV example-the 1959 update that ushered in the practical external trunk lid, a single-piece rear window, and fresh-air vent windows-presented today in an evocative two-tone Marti Gras Red and Frost White livery with a color-coordinated white soft top and red-painted wheels, further enhanced by bright Metropolitan-branded hubcaps and a Continental Kit-style rear-mounted spare. The cheerful theme continues inside, where a crisply finished two-tone dashboard houses a functional AM radio and Smiths speedometer, complemented by a red two-spoke steering wheel and a bench seat trimmed in correct white vinyl with red diamond-pattern cloth inserts. A very tidy engine bay showcases the 1.5-liter Austin inline-four, rated at 55 horsepower courtesy of the higher 8.3:1 compression introduced for 1957, lending the Metropolitan its sprightly character.

Concours-quality in presentation and surely one of the finest examples of its kind, this car's quality is underscored by numerous Metropolitan Owners Club First Place and Best in Show awards spanning several years, followed by top-tier showings including First Place Postwar American at the 2018 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance and Third Place Postwar American at the 2024 Wynn Las Vegas Concours d'Elegance. Under new stewardship it will continue to be a welcome, conversation-stopping entry at future events, its charming proportions and color scheme reliably drawing smiles, double-takes, and delighted acclaim wherever it appears.