La Marquise, is, as of August 2007, thought to be the world's longest running
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
. It is an 1884 model made by
De Dion, Bouton & TrépardouxDe Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1932. The company was founded by Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton and his brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux....
of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
. The car was built as a
prototypeA prototype is an original type, form, or instance of something serving as a typical example, basis, or standard for other things of the same category...
for future
quadricycleQuadricycle, quadracycle, quadcycle, quadrocycle refers to any vehicle with four wheels.More specifically the term may refer to:...
s, and named for the mother of
Albert, the Count of DionMarquis Jules Félix Philippe Albert de Dion was a pioneer of the automobile industry in France.-His life:Scion of a leading French noble family and "a notorious duellist", de Dion had a passion for mechanics...
.
In 1887, the Count of Dion drove La Marquise in an exhibition that has sometimes been called the world’s first car race, though his was the only car that showed up. It made the 20-odd-mile
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-to-
VersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial center...
round trip at an average speed of almost 16 m.p.h.
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La Marquise, is, as of August 2007, thought to be the world's longest running
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
. It is an 1884 model made by
De Dion, Bouton & TrépardouxDe Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1932. The company was founded by Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton and his brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux....
of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
. The car was built as a
prototypeA prototype is an original type, form, or instance of something serving as a typical example, basis, or standard for other things of the same category...
for future
quadricycleQuadricycle, quadracycle, quadcycle, quadrocycle refers to any vehicle with four wheels.More specifically the term may refer to:...
s, and named for the mother of
Albert, the Count of DionMarquis Jules Félix Philippe Albert de Dion was a pioneer of the automobile industry in France.-His life:Scion of a leading French noble family and "a notorious duellist", de Dion had a passion for mechanics...
.
In 1887, the Count of Dion drove La Marquise in an exhibition that has sometimes been called the world’s first car race, though his was the only car that showed up. It made the 20-odd-mile
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-to-
VersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial center...
round trip at an average speed of almost 16 m.p.h. The next year, he beat Bouton on a three-wheeler with an average speed of 18 m.p.h.
Fueled by coal, wood and bits of paper, the car takes half an hour to forty minutes to build up enough steam to drive. Top speed is 38
miles per hourThe mile per hour is a unit of speed, measured in Imperial units expressing the number of international miles covered per hour.It is currently the unit used for speed limits, and speeds, on roads in the United Kingdom and United States...
(61 km/h).
As the oldest car, it wore the number "0" in the 1996
London to Brighton Veteran Car RunThe London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is the longest-running motoring event in the world. The first run was in 1896, and has taken place most years since then. To qualify, the cars must have been built before 1905...
. The vehicle was sold at the 2007
Pebble Beach Concours d'EleganceThe Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an automotive charitable event held each year on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, considered the most prestigious event of its kind. It is the finale of a week long festival of classic cars events in the Monterey area every year...
for US$3,520,000.