NEWS RELEASE
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Auburn, Indiana. August 9th, 2019. Among the star consignments at Worldwide Auctioneers’ annual Pacific Grove Auction on Thursday, August 15th is one of the most historically significant cars ever built, an astonishingly original 1898 Riker Electric Stanhope. “This is the most important electric car ever conceived,” said John Kruse, Principal & Auctioneer, “one of the earliest examples ever made and certainly the earliest to triumph on the racetrack, both here in the US and overseas. It was owned and raced by Andrew Riker himself, founder of the Riker Electric Vehicle Company and an early automotive and green energy pioneer who went on to become the head engineer of Locomobile and first president of the Society of Automotive Engineers. It’s offered for sale in amazingly unrestored condition and best of all, it is still a running, driving automobile today. We invite you to join us as we put it through its paces right here.”
The 1898 Riker Electric has exceptional provenance and fascinating race history, reported to reach an incredible 40mph. It retains its original leather license plate with Riker’s initials, the very first car registered in the state of New York and possibly the very first in the U.S. Andrew Riker drove the car to victory at the Mechanics Fair at Charles River Park in Massachusetts in 1898 and again in 1900 at a race at the 1900 Paris Exposition. He also won first place at the very first 50-mile road race in America, on Long Island, New York. The car was donated to the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan in 1929, before being returned to the Riker family in 1985 and has never been offered for public sale. A perfect preservation class car, it is eligible for all the most celebrated international events, like the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
“The significance of this automobile today cannot be overstated,” said Rod Egan, Principal and Auctioneer. “The enduring debate over alternative fuels and the ongoing evolution of renewable energy and electric vehicles is obviously a hotter topic than ever in 2019, making it even more remarkable that this historic electric motorcar was conceived well over a century ago by a true pioneer of green energy. There are very few cars of this historic significance in existence and certainly hardly any that are available for sale. Our sincere wish is that it will find itself in a place where it will be seen and enjoyed and lauded as the remarkable pioneering achievement that it is.”
The Pacific Grove Auction enjoys the best views in town, with the 2019 event again set to be staged in the spectacular ocean side setting of the Pacific Grove Golf Links, adjacent to the famous 17 Mile Drive and perfectly positioned at the tip of the Peninsula for both Monterey and Pebble Beach. The sale starts at 5pm on Thursday, August 15th, 2019, with auction preview days scheduled from 9am Monday, August 12th up until the sale itself. Visit worldwideauctioneers.com and Worldwide Auctioneers’ social media properties for consignment and event information and to register as a bidder, email info@worldwideauctioneers.com or call 1.260.925.6789 or 800.990.6789.
Along with The Pacific Grove Auction, Worldwide’s annual schedule includes The Scottsdale Auction in Arizona in January, The Texas Classic Auction in April, The Auburn Auction, held during Labor Day Weekend in Indiana and the inaugural Riyadh Auction and Salon in Saudi Arabia, scheduled for November 21st – 26th 2019, as well as stand-alone auctions of significant private collections. This year’s 12th annual Auburn Auction is a two-day sale, scheduled for August 30th and 31st at the company’s new global headquarters, located directly opposite and within walking distance of the Auburn Auction Park. The relocation also facilitated a massive expansion of its private sales division, with the introduction of a dedicated physical and virtual showroom, The Salon, as well as the introduction of a new Memorabilia Division. In addition to the acquisition and sale of classic automobiles, Worldwide Auctioneers offers an extensive range of personalized services to the serious collector, including appraisal, collection direction and consultancy, estate planning and asset management.
