1923 Kissel Model 55 De Luxe Brougham Sedan

This 1923 Model 6-55 Brougham Deluxe Opera Sedan is an original, fully restored example of the fine old-world craftsmanship which the Kissel Motor Car Company of Harford, Wisconsin put into its beautiful rare Wisconsin vehicles.

The Kissel Motor Car Co. manufactured military vehicles, farm machinery, and very beautiful cars between 1908 and 1929. Never produced in great numbers, the Kissel brothers 'custom built' a complete line of very high-end automobiles, catering to celebrities and silent movie stars. They cast their bodies in aluminum, not steel, with extremely durable oak and ash wood frames. Liberal use of nickel and brass trim was made.

This 1923 Sedan is one of two complete Model 6-55 Sedans which survive. Rakish in its correct Kissel Burnt Red, it was sold originally in Indianapolis to a business executive. It was later acquired by a Florida family in 1976, and purchased by the current owner in 2011. This automobile has finished a complete frame-off restoration; every piece, nut and bolt lovingly restored.

Like many early automotive enterprises, the Kissel Motor Car Company was descended from a related industry, in this case agricultural equipment. Scions of an enterprising German family (L. Kissel and Sons) that had emigrated to Wisconsin in the mid-19th century, William and George Kissel began producing Kissel Kars in 1906, in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Initially, the brothers aspired to the upper middle of the fledgling car market, and made some noteworthy contributions to the start of the art - a double-drop frame, in 1911, and illuminated instrumentation in 1914. Kissel is probably best remembered for the sporty Gold Bug roadster of 1926, as well as a V-12 engine option in 1917-1919. However, the company's main engine from 1916 through 1928 was a big inline six, initially 4.7 liters.

Rated for 50 horsepower, it propels this elegant and rare sedan, one of two survivors of the model, according to the car's owner. A Kissel aficionado, the current owner of this Brougham Opera Sedan, purchased it from an upholstery shop owner who had stored it since 1976. Aside from rotted wood elements, and a serious hornet infestation, the biggest restoration challenge was the engine, which was damaged and missing internal parts that had to be machined from scratch. The restoration was completed in early 2013, and it made its post-restoration debut at the St. John's Concours d'Elegance. Though respected, Kissel was never a big producer. Sales declined steadily even in the boom years of the Roaring Twenties and the company went into receivership in September 1930, as the Great Depression gripped American enterprise.