110-year-old electric cars in demand

Just to prove that there’s nothing new under the sun, a couple of significant electric cars dating from 110 years ago have either matched or exceeded their estimate at auction.

At the Historics sale at Brooklands on June 11, an American-built 1906 Pope Waverley Victoria Phaeton fetched £44,800 against an estimate of £30,000 to £40,000 while a 1907 Victor High Wheel Electric Runabout sold for £38,080 having been estimated to also fetch £30,000 to £40,000.

Both are now incredibly rare, but electric propulsion was considered a sufficiently viable proposition in the early years of the 20th century to be able to sustain more than 100 manufacturers of battery-powered cars.

Only spectacular improvements in the efficiency and reliability of internal combustion engines and the consequent mass-production of cheaper petrol vehicles that sounded the death knell of the electric car movement.

The fact that Brooklands - the birthplace of UK motorsport and aviation - was opened in 1907 only added to the resonance of these electric time-warp masterpieces as they came under the hammer.

The 1906 Pope Waverley Victoria Phaeton was built in Nebraska and cost $1,600 when new. The example sold by Historics has been fully restored.

It features tiller steering, a floral print bench seat (plus a rear-facing occasional third seat) and a black leather hood.

It was brought to the UK some years ago by the vendor, who has fitted modern batteries that substantially improve the range.

The 1907 Victor High Wheel Runabout was built the following year in Indianapolis. It spent many years on display in an American museum before being imported to the UK, when it was completely overhauled - like the Pope Waverley, this included fitting modern batteries.

Features include a black leather interior and patent leather mudguards.

These magnificent electric cars from more than a century ago were two of the highlights of 136 classics appearing at the auction, of which 70 per cent were sold. The total raised was £3.08 million.

The highest over-estimate achiever was Ronnie Peterson's 1972 Lotus +2 S (estimated at £28,000-£35,000) which was sold for £72,800 and remains in the UK, and another possible world record price was achieved by a 2003 BMW Z3M with 11,000 miles, which settled on £51,250.

Other notable results included:

1952 Lancia Ardea: £13,400

1952 Austin A90 Atlantic: £41,440

1954 Austin Healer BN1: £47,040

1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia SS 1600: 89,600

1962 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster: £100,800

1962 Porsche 356B: £118,720

1963 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Roadster: £ 130,000

1991 Ferrari Testarossa: £159,040

1992 Porsche 911 (964) RS: £134,400

All the consignments and full details at www.historics.co.uk

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