1913 Mercer Raceabout 35J

Cobble Beach Classics at the Canadian International AutoShow celebrates the historic vehicles that made a difference

Henry Seth Taylor designed and built his Steam Buggy in Stanstead, Quebec. It was the very first car to be designed and constructed in Canada. Henry Seth Taylor, a jeweller and clockmaker, designed the whole machine—steam engine, working parts, frame and body. He created many of the working parts himself. Construction of the Steam Buggy is believed to have started in 1865, and it was unveiled at the Stanstead Fall Fair in 1867.

This once-lost 1946 Pininfarina roadster body is mounted on a 1942 war-time Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 chassis, serial number 915.169. The car was originally constructed under the patronage of Giuliana Tortoli Cuccioli of Milan, a perfume designer who paid close to 5 million period liras for it. The Alfa Romeo was once used in a defiant display outside the Paris Auto Show held in the Grand Palais in 1946, following a bar against Italy, which was not a member of the newly formed U.N. The car was also the winner of the Grand Prix d’Honneur of the 29th annual Concours d’Elegance Monte Carlo in 1947. Chassis number 915.169 was later sold to Austin Motorworks and influenced the design of the A-90 Atlantic and later Austin-Healeys. This car was meticulously restored to its original condition when first displayed in 1946. Original colour samples were taken from every area and matched precisely. This Alfa Romeo is a beautiful example of a significant part of automotive history.

In 1913, the Willys-Overland was the number two selling automobile in America, just behind Ford. That same year, John North Willys was told by his doctor that he had to take a break from working so hard and suggested he should either go abroad or to a sanitarium. Willys chose Europe. While there, he met Charles Yale Knight. Knight had invented an engine with sleeve valves rather than the usual poppet valves. Willy was not a mechanic or an engineer by any means, but he saw the novelty of the sleeve valve and its promotional possibilities. The sleeve valves were much quieter in operation, but they had the propensity to burn more oil. Ultimately, the poppet valves won out, and beginning in 1914, Willys-Overland produced more Knight-engine cars than virtually all other manufacturers in the world combined. It is believed that this car was introduced at the 1929 New York Automobile Show. It was styled by designer Amos Northup, who was better known for styling the handsome Reo Royale. It was Northup who gave the car its disinvited grid work on the doors, which the New York press labelled “Plaidside,” and the name stuck. Some 400 of the cars were produced, and only 250 had Plaidside. All with bodywork by Griswold of Detroit. An exhaustive restoration was completed in October 2012, prior to the car debuting at the AACA Fall Meet in Hershey, where it received its First Junior Award. It has gone on to win several prestigious awards including the AACA President’s Cup, one of the organisation’s most prestigious national honours, Best American Open Car at The Elegance at Hershey, Best in Class at the Hilton Head Concours and Best in Class and the Founder’s Trophy at the Ault Park Concours.

Purchased from a retired school teacher December 2011, this 1927 BMW Isetta 300 underwent a 28 month restoration. The Isetta came from NY originally, however the owner found it in Plant City FL. There were about 18,000 Isettas imported from Germany in the 1950’s. This model is a rare, 1957 Cabrio, only 2% of the Isettas imported were Cabrios. The government of the Federal Republic of Germany changed the regulations for motor vehicles. Class IV licences issued from that time onward could only be used to operate small motorcycles and could no longer be used to operate motor vehicles with a capacity of less than 250 cc. At the same time, the maximum capacity allowed for the Isetta’s tax category which was 300 cc. Class IV licences issued before the change in the regulations were grandfathered and allowed to be used as before. BMW Isetta 300 – Sliding Window 4-wheel LHD version This change in regulations encouraged BMW to revise their Isetta microcars. In October 1956, the Isetta Moto Coupe DeLuxe (sliding-window Isetta) was introduced. The bubble windows were replaced by longer, sliding side windows. The engineers had enlarged the single cylinder to a 72 mm (2.8 in) bore and 73 mm (2.9 in) stroke, which gave a displacement of exactly 298 cc; at the same time, they raised the compression ratio from 6.8 to 7.0:1. As a result, the engine power output rose to 10 kW (13 hp) at 5200 rpm, and the torque rose to 18.4 N·m (13.6 ft·lbf) at 4600 rpm. The maximum speed remained at 85 km/h (53 mph).

This vehicle was purchased in the fall of 1928 by an Italian immigrant, Albert Rossini of New Jersey, who had a business which failed as a result of the 1929 Depression. Stuck for money, he then used the car as a truck—the trunk rack, rumble seat lid, and lower body were removed, and a small wooden box was inserted, making it into a small truck. It was used this way until Mr. Rossini’s death in 1958, when his son had the car partially restored to the original Couple Roadster style. It was purchased by the current owner in September 2005. The car was fielded in many events in the Toronto area until September 2009, when it was wrecked upon return from an event in the U.S. The vehicle towing the Packard hit a massive highway pothole, causing the car to come off its trailer and to receive some very serious damage. After one-and-a-half years, the car was fully restored and re-entered car show duty in the spring of 2011. This vehicle is truly representative of the highest standards of the Classic Era.

On May 1st, 1994, at 12:17 PM, while leading the Formula 1 Grand Prix in San Marino against the likes of Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill, the life of Ayrton Senna, arguably the greatest F1 driver in history, ended suddenly after his 1994 Williams FW16 crashed into a concrete wall. His tragic death shocked not only the racing world, but the world at large, and especially his native Brazil, where he was hailed as a national hero. Senna’s climb to F1 legendary status commenced in 1984, when he was recruited as a rookie driver with Tolman-Hart, and the following year, on April 21th, 1985, he won his first F1 race in Portugal, under his new sponsor Lotus-Renault. He subsequently went on to capture three F1 Championship titles in 1988, 1990, and 1991. 1987 was a pivotal year for both Senna and the Lotus F1 team. Lotus had joined forces with Honda, and working with designer Gerard Ducarouge created the 99T, regarded as amongst the best-handling F1 cars in existence– given its revolutionary Lotus Active Suspension – as well as one of the fastest cars on the F1 circuit, especially in the hands of Senna. The car was capable of achieving speeds of 340 km/h with its Honda Twin-Turbo V-6 engine, which put out a maximum 800 brake horsepower. The Camel sponsorship livery was also new in 1987, featuring the legendary race car in bright Lotus yellow with rich blue lettering. Only six examples of the 99T were created for the 1987 F1 season, which marked the last time that a Lotus achieved an F1 podium finish. In fact, the 99T won at both Monaco and Detroit, and achieved another six podium finishes that year, a feat never to be repeated thereafter in F1 by a Lotus. Senna and Lotus achieved a third place finish in the World Drivers’ Championship and the Constructors’ Championship for 1987, which represented the best performance for Senna in his racing career to that point, and paved the way to his 1988 F1 World

The complete history of this 1957 Messerschmitt KR201 is not known but there is documentation that it was once owned by the renowned animal trainer Orin Benson. Owner purchased the car in 2009 with just 2,600 original miles. In early 2013, this vehicle experienced a comprehensive factory-correct restoration. All body and mechanical components were completely restored and the original hardware was returned to factory correct finish. The exterior paint color “signal White” was duplicated to factory standards. All of the factory “blemishes” were duplicated (as basic transportation, these cars were never perfect when manufactured). The folding roadster top was replicated in every detail including stitching; the folding steel frame was plated to the correct factory finish. The interior material is original to this car and is KR201- specific black with red piping with “snakeskin” trim. It was reinstalled because of its rarity and exceptional condition.

In 1948, the Model 62 received a total body revamp, and became the first tailfin car Cadillac produced. 1948 was also the last year for the flathead 346-cubic-inch motor that had been produced since 1937. It was replaced in 1949 with a 331-cubic-inch overhead-valve V-8 motor. This car was delivered new in California, and received a frame-off restoration about four years ago.