1922 Mercer Series 5 Raceabout

Mercer introduced its first all-new models for 1915, since its founding five years prior. Named the Series 5, it would remain in production for nearly a decade and during that time, would become one of the fastest and most powerful automobiles on the American road. Power was from an Eric Delling-designed L-head four mounted in an advanced chassis with live-axle suspension and (eventually) four-wheel braking. The most spirited example was the two-passenger raceabout, a gentleman's sports car without doors, roof, or windows. Mercer guaranteed a 75 mph or better top speed.

This particular example was owned by Ray Wolff. The original owner was General Aguiar who put 14,510 miles on its odometer. It was later purchased by Juan Alvarez, who sold it to Wolff in 1968. Alvarez had begun a restoration but did not complete it. It spent 100 days in transportation to Milwaukee, after which the late M.T. 'Joe' Kaufmann and Chuck Kalista spent three years restoring it back to its original condition.

Wolf used the fully restored Mercer as a partial trade toward a vintage Ferrari, in 1972. Two years later, it was acquired by Larry Dubbs, of Germantown, Ohio, who retained it for the next two decades before selling it to the present owner in 1997.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2015