OLDSMOBILE SELLS FOR 1.6 MILLION.

It sounds far fetched but with only three examples known to still exist, this 1911 Limited touring car by Oldsmobile is quite probably the most exclusive Olds ever created.

That exclusivity, combined with its utterly unrestored condition (still wearing the same tires that rolled it out of the factory, helped to make it the star of the recent Vintage Motor Cars at Hershey auction, selling for a phenomenal $1.65 million.

At 96 years old, the Olds is three owners from new. It spent half a century as a museum piece, after it’s relocation from a lucky barn in the 1950’s. The Olds’ second owner toyed with the idea of a full restoration of the grand old lady, buying five correct replacement tires that never went on.

In fact, despite the shredded rubber of the tires, the condition of the century-old tourer is pretty remarkable. Structurally solid the car still wears its original leathers, and boasts body of unmolested sheet metal.

The beauty and originality of the car’s patina was one factor in driving the bidding significantly up from the $800,000-$1,200,000 RM speculated it would command. Starting at a healthy $300K, bidding hit the $1.4 million mark after only five minutes.

Source: WR