subject: Classic Car News: The Wheels Of A 1900 De Dion Are Finally In Motion [print this page] Classic Car News: The Wheels Of A 1900 De Dion Are Finally In Motion
If you're a classic car enthusiast you will be excited to know that a piece of motoring history has been found and is in desperate need of restoration. Unbelievably, the piece of "scrap metal was once part of a car from the 1900s and is set to sell at auction for 26,000", according to the Daily Mail website.
The metal carcase has been the property of a family living in Kent since at least 1921 and was found rusting away in their garage. After careful examination of the chassis it has been revealed that the car in question, or what's left of it, is a De Dion Bouton Vis-a-Vis from the 1900s.
Unlike most classics this motor was produced in a rather unorthodox way with both seats facing each other. Even more bizarrely there is no steering wheel, but a tiller system instead making this forgotten treasure a real gem.
When this spectacular car first emerged on the streets of New York in 1900, the De Dion Bouton was the "world's largest maker of automobiles with annual production of 400 cars and 3,200 engines". I'm guessing the rarity of this beauty is what is making it so popular and valuable now, and the enticement of a long term restoration project that someone can put their own mark on.
The Daily Mail website have summed up this renovation project perfectly by saying that "car enthusiasts love restoring classics so much that there is great demand for this rather pathetic looking piece of metal, with two bent wheel frames hanging from it".
