1923 Dort Six Sport Touring

Josiah Dallas Dort and William Crapo Durant formed the Flint Road Car Company in 1886. This was the start of a friendship that would last for many years. Later in life, Durant would work with Buick, General Motors, and Chevrolet, while Dort stayed in the carriage business. In 1915, Dort entered the automotive world by forming the Dort Motor Car Company. Etienne Planche was hired as chief engineer, and he came with an excellent resume, having worked with Louis Chevrolet to build the first Chevrolet automobile.

For the first few years, the Dort automobile was powered by a four-cylinder engine. A six-cylinder engine followed in 1923. The four-cylinder unit produced a modest amount of horsepower, rated at nearly 17 horsepower. This continued to rise over the years, gradually reaching 30 horsepower by 1920. The Six overhead-valve unit developed 45 horsepower.

During the first year of production, Dort produced 8,618 vehicles. By 1920 (their best year), the company produced 30,128 vehicles.

The company remained in business until 1924. They produced 2,493 vehicles that year. The factory was sold to A.C. Spark Plug early in 1925.

For 1923, Dort produced both a Four and a Six-cylinder version of their automobile in several body styles. Pricing for the six ranged from $990 - nearly $1500. The car was completely restyled for 1923 and was given a newly designed nickel-plated radiator, larger bodywork, and a Falls engine. The Model 25-K had a top speed of 60 mph and was priced at $1,020.

This vehicle is a Sport Touring that is powered by a 196 cubic-inch overhead-valve six-cylinder Falls engine mated to a three-speed manual gearbox. There were two-wheel mechanical drum brakes and a rigid axle suspension with semi-elliptical leaf springs.

In August of 2000, the car was acquired by the Nethercutt Collection.

In 2011, this vehicle was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction in Scottsdale, Az. where it was estimated to sell for $20,000 - $30,000 and offered without reserve. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $15,400 including the buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2011