A car with single-family ownership catches your attention, right? What if that goes back to when Theodore Roosevelt was U.S. president? That’s right, this 1912 Simplex has stayed within the same family since first bought, a tenure of 111 years.
William P. Snyder Jr., born 1888, bought the car new. He met his future wife, Marie Elise Whitney, who also had a Simplex, on the Long Island Ferry. William suggested to Marie that they race their cars after the ferry docked. It is said he lost that contest. This car, however, carried the two on their honeymoon after William won over Marie’s heart.
This car’s no stranger to attention, either. It appeared in a Gulfpride H.D. motor oil advertisement in 1953. In 2011 it made an appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, displaying in a Simplex class. It earned the Briggs Cunningham Trophy, an award presented to the most exciting car. Not too shabby for a car last restored in the 1950s.
Find this 1912 Simplex 50 HP Toy-Tonneau up for auction at Gooding & Company, with an estimated winning bid of $3,000,000-$4,000,000.
