1916 Crane-Simplex Model 5 Phaeton

This 1916 Simplex Crane Model 5 has Phaeton coachwork by Frederick R. Wood. It is fitted with a six-cylinder L-head engine that displaces 564 cubic inches and produces 110 horsepower. There is a four-speed gearbox and a 12-volt electrical system. It has worn the same seven-passenger aluminum custom body all of its existence and has driven a mere 16,000 miles since new.

Arthur Homan became this car's second owner; the first owner was from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. After the Second World War, from 1946 to 1950, it was jointly owned by Malcolm Thompson and Roger Cutting. While in their care it was driven on its first Glidden Tour revival in 1946. It traveled from Massachusetts to Detroit and back to Canada.

Reverend Austin Guiles of Newton, Massachusetts owned it for a short time in the early 1950s before selling it in late 1952 to the grandfather of the present owner. The father inherited it in 1983 and in 1985 it was given a professional restoration by Ralph Buckley. It was put into storage in the mid-1990s and brought to the Gooding & Company auction held in Pebble Beach, Ca in 2007. It was estimated to sell for $175,000 - $225,000. As bidding concluded, the lot had been sold for $176,000 including the buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2008