1917 Winton Model 33 Touring

Every car that is ever produced will have a story to tell. Many things will be seen and experienced. Very few will have been there from the very beginning and will have seen its lineage evolve. In the case of Winton's cars, they can brag as having been present from the beginning.

Winton was one of America's first companies to produce and sell automobiles. Founded in Cleveland, Ohio, the Scottish immigrant Alexander Winton actually started out, like so many in that day and age of the very early 20th century, making and repairing bicycles.

In 1899, Winton sold more than 100 of their gasoline-powered cars, making it the largest automobile manufacturer in the United States at the time. In 1902 a car called the Winton Bullet set an unofficial land speed record of 70 mph.

Throughout the years prior to the First World War, Winton promoted its cars to the upper classes of America. By the 1920s, many car companies had popped up and innovations were coming more and more quickly. Winton was unable to really challenge all of the manufacturers as it had been when it was just Ford as their main competition. Therefore, in 1924, the company ceased making automobiles and concentrated instead on manufacturing engines. This last remaining part of Winton was purchased in 1930 and became a subsidiary of General Motors. GM reorganized the company in 1937 and renamed it the Cleveland Diesel Engine Division of General Motors, which ended up ceasing operations in 1962.

Featured in a book by highly respected classic-car photographer Michael Furman, the Winton offered at this year's auction was one of the company's last chassis designs. Between the later part of the 20th century's first decade and the mid-teens, Winton had not unveiled a new design. However, in 1916, Winton debuted its new Six-33.

Winton was one of the biggest and earliest proponents of the six-cylinder engine and started putting the engine in his cars around 1908. The six-cylinder engine would remain a fixture in all of Winton's cars for the rest of the company's days.

The car offered at the auction came from the Gateway Colorado Auto Museum and featured a Model 22A, 34 hp, 348 cubic inches in-line six-cylinder engine. It features a four-speed transmission and solid axle front suspension with semi-elliptical leaf springs. The rear is a live rear axle also with semi-elliptical leaf springs.

The car's exterior finish is olive-colored. Its convertible, fabric top is black. The interior boasts a large, wooden steering wheel, mechanically-actuated rear drum brakes and a wood-finished dash. It was expected the Winton Six-33 would garner between $80,000 and $120,000 at auction.

The car is truly a timepiece and provides on-lookers and passengers with an instant trip into the past and the automobile's historic early days.

Sources:

'Buy: View Lots (Lot 300: 1917 Winton Six-33 Sport Touring)', (http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm?SaleCode=AZ11&CarID=r247&fc=0). RM Auctions Arizona. http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm?SaleCode=AZ11&CarID=r247&fc=0. Retrieved 11 January 2011.

Wikipedia contributors, 'Winton Motor Carriage Company', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 December 2010, 22:32 UTC, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Winton_Motor_Carriage_Company&oldid=402031807 accessed 11 January 2011

By Jeremy McMullen