1926 Rickenbacker Eight Super Sport

Sold for $946,000 at 2014 RM Auctions at Monterey.
Eddie Rickenbacker would garner fame in World War I as a result of becoming a famed ace at the controls of his Spad fighter. Noted for the Stars and Stripes top hat adorning the side of the plane, Eddie would throw his hat in the automotive and motor racing ring many times. This would include competing in the Indy 500 prior to the war and then owning the speedway following. However, before he would become the owner of the famed two-and-a-half mile oval, Eddie would try his hand at another automotive effort—Rickenbacker Motor Company.

Eddie Rickenbacker would found his motor company in 1920, just a couple of years after the end of the Great War. Using his vast experience in motor racing and within the aviation industry, Rickenbacker's automobiles would include a number of advanced features.

While Eddie would lend his name and his experience to the effort, much of the weight of the design and build of the cars would rest upon Barney Everitt, William Metzger, and Walter Flanders. These men would set to work producing the company's first automobile which would debut in 1921. But though Rickenbacker would take a somewhat background role within the company he would be sure to stress the need for his cars to include such advanced features as four-wheel brakes. Though seemingly insignificant, such features would put the Rickenbacker line of automobiles within the realm of the Duesenbergs.

Despite founding the company in 1920, Rickenbacker Motor Company would be defunct by 1927. However, before Rickenbacker Motor Company would go quietly into the night they would produce a line of automobiles that would leave many wondering what happened to such a company.

One of the company's last models certainly would be one of its best. The model would be the Eight Super Sport. Trimmed with a copper-plated radiator with an airplane adorning the top, these Super Sports would have an engine producing over 100hp and many other rich features. Plans were in place to build around 30 of these Super Sport bodies, however, there would be only about 14 or so that would actually be built before the company closed its doors. One such example would be the 1926 New York Auto Show car.

Though there would be about 14 or so Eight Super Sports built by the Rickenbacker company, there would be even fewer still in existence some 50 years later. In fact, the 1926 New York Auto Show car would be even more unique and particular.

Given the limited number of Super Sports that would be built before Rickenbacker folded, this particular example would be quickly bought by Richard Mellin of Mellin & **** based in Wyandotte, Michigan. Paying in the order of $10,000, Mellin's car would show up at his dealership in 1927.

Mellin would keep the car as his own for many decades. In fact, it wouldn't be until the early 1970s that Bud Catlett would scout out and persuade William Harrah to purchase the Rickenbacker from the Mellin family. Buying what is considered the sole remaining example, the 1926 Eight Super Sport would have only a little more than 11,000 miles on it at the time of transferring owners.

Harrah would proudly present the car as part of his collection but would certainly have some friends and other interested parties. One of those that would finally get what he wanted would be Thomas Lester. He would come to own the car in 1983 at the time the Harrah collection was being sold.

Two years after being sold again the car would undergo a thorough restoration. The restoration endeavor would manage to maintain a high level of authenticity and originality given the few owners that the car had had over the course of its lifetime, and a few miles as well.

Remaining a part of the Lester Collection, the Rickenbacker Eight Super Sport would make a number of appearances in periodicals and at a number of events. Featured in Road & Track and then in an early 1990s book The Classic Car, the Rickenbacker remains a vivid reminder of perhaps the best of Rickenbacker Motor Company.

Following a period with Bob Pond, where it would be a prominent feature within the Palm Springs Air Museum, the Super Sport has been relatively hidden from the public view. Nonetheless, the car returns to the public eye ready to remind of a day when a war ace applied his name and his talents to producing some very fine automobiles.

Though in need of some restoration, the 1926 Rickenbacker Eight Super Sport remains highly original inside and out and would be an exciting addition to the 2014 RM Auctions held in Monterey. When the bidding came to an end the car would garner a sale price of $946,000.

By Jeremy McMullen