Coys Auction - True Greats
Royal Horticultural Halls
Elverton St
Westminster
London SW1
Tuesday 1st December 2009
Registration Number: BF2566 Chassis Number: TBA
Francis E. and Freelan O. Stanley were born in Kingsfield, Maine, America in 1849. Their first steam car was finished in September 1897 and they continued the development of their cars with speed and hill climbing trials in which they excelled. The development and improvement of Stanley steam cars continued until 1924, by which time only a handful of steam car manufacturers remained. Without doubt, Stanley is the most widely known of all the steam car manufacturers.
A Stanley steam car captured the legendary land speed record in 1906 with a speed of 127.66mph, a considerable triumph in its day. With this level of performance it is easy to see why the steam car was so popular at the dawn of motoring, indeed, in technological terms, steam was easier to accept for the masses than the internal combustion engine; it was