1906 Stanley Model H Gentlemans Speedy Roadster

The Stanley Model H, with its 20 horsepower engine and well-designed chassis, was built between 1906 and 1908. In January of 1906, a Model H Speedy Roadster was timed at over 80 mph at Daytona Beach, making it the fastest production car in the world at that time. Today, this roadster is the only known surviving example. It was purchased in 1915 by Edward Chamberlain of Oakland for his honeymoon in Yosemite National Park. Later, in the spring of 1917, it became the first car to drive over Donner Summit to Lake Tahoe, where Chamberlain left it at his lakeside cabin. It sat there untouched until 1996, when it was found by its current owner. A metal detector had to be used to recover many of the parts as the car was covered with years of debris; some of the wooden parts were beyond recovery, but the original yellow paint and pin-striping on the metal were well preserved. The car is now exactly as it was when it left the Stanley factory.