The transition from a carriage that was pulled by a horse that was powered by hay, grass, oats, and carrots to one that’s powered by an engine that could be fueled by a variety of gasoline and oil mixtures brought about a look and style in the beginning that was interesting. Imagine seeing a carriage roll through town in those early days without a horse on the front. The idea was to maintain much of the same style, and because the first car makers simply added the engine and components to carriages, the look was familiar at first.
The oldest surviving car that was built by a British automaker has been described as a park bench with an engine because of the carriage look and feel that was used at the time. This car is the 1894 Santler 3 ½-horsepower Dogcart. At 123 years old this cart is about to be put up for sale at the London to Brighton sale next month and its one that certainly has a specific place in history. It’s amazing this cart survived as long as it has, but it does give us a look back at the early days of automaking.
Early Power and Driving
The gasoline-powered internal combustion engine came later in the days of the automotive world. This Santler Dogcart by brothers Charles and Walter Santler in the late 1890s was powered by a steam engine at first. This engine was fitted with a single-cylinder water-cooled Benz engine when it was restored in the 1950s, but as it was built at the beginning of the build it reflected a build and a drive you would have noticed in a steam train more than in a car that was made to have an engine that could be powered on its own.
As it’s built now, the Santler Dogcart is in running condition and has been equipped with a belt driven transmission and a chain drive that runs to the rear wheels. There is a foot operated brake that only works on the driver’s side rear wheel along with a hand operated brake that’s made to slow both rear wheels. The wheels are 28 inches up front and 40 inches in the rear to give you a place to sit that’s up high and above the road as you ride around with a vehicle that has extremely low power.
The woodwork, history, and build of this impressive and historic model will be on sale next month and Bonhams estimates this car will sell for a high price of between $260,000 and $330,000. Even though most of us reading this won’t be at the auction to bid on this car, it’s pretty cool to think this car is still in existence and will hopefully be maintained and offered on display for another 123 years to be a car that we can admire and enjoy for many years going forward.
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