Voiture Locomobile 3.5hp Spindle-Seat Runabout Registration 1899 a vendre

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To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' The London Auction event, 31 October 2026.
Offered Without Reserve | £40,000 - £50,000 GBP

Charming steam-powered Runabout made in the first year of Locomobile’s operation as an automotive manufacturer; thought to be within the first 200 cars built
Propelled by a two-cylinder steam engine with slide valves operated by Stephenson’s link motion
Pre-1900 year of production promises early start slot for London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
In the care of its consigning owner since October 2014
Subject to June 2026 boiler examination (report viewable on file); 10-yearly hydraulic test last completed October 2025

In its earliest years, the Locomobile marque set up as a manufacturer of steam-engined motorcars based out of Watertown, Massachusetts. The company moved production to Bridgetown, Connecticut in 1900 and within just three years had switched its efforts entirely to internal combustion engine cars. The small steam automobiles from its foundational period proved useful to travelling professionals requiring quick mobility at the time, though, with at least 4,000 examples built from 1899 to 1902.

At the height of its steam car production, Locomobile offered seven body styles of varying practicality, while the simple Runabout was billed as the affordable model for everyday use. On sale for $600 at the turn of the century, its list price equates to around $27,000 (roughly £20,000) today. A modest price but surely still a luxurious outlay for many in the advent of the automobile and at the very beginning of mass uptake to engine-propelled transport.

The example offered here is a Type 1 Spindle-Seat Runabout, verified by the Veteran Car Club (VCC) as an 1899 model, and believed to originate from the first 200 cars made by Locomobile. The steam car is steered by central tiller, final drive is by a single blockchain, and the brakes operate on an open-type differential. It is believed that the steam car was first delivered to New York and is said to have been returned to the factory in 1902 for the fitment of an Ottoway burner rated at around 7 horsepower and later water gauge glass. It was driven until it was damaged around 1910. The car was laid up and removed from storage, largely intact, in the late 1930s. Then, in the mid-1970s, it was discovered again by a steam car enthusiast. It is thought that the car was taken to England around this time to participate in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run and VCC events. With its owner, the Locomobile appeared in a 1977 feature in Horseless Carriage Gazette, yet by the early 1980s it failed a boiler inspection and was mothballed.

The Locomobile was acquired at auction in 2000 and, after decades of being stored in a dismantled state, its new owner made efforts to recommission the steam car with the installation of a new ‘Gould’ boiler in 2001; they retained possession until 2014, when it was acquired by the consigning owner. With the vendor, the Locomobile has been enjoyed as a distinguishable entrant on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (pictured on file participating in 2016), as well as other events. Sure to command an early start time on the dash to the south coast owing to its pre-1900 build date, as well as being eligible for many other VCC events, this characterful steam car awaits its next owner for enjoyment in future outings.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/lf26/.