World's Oldest Working Car Sold for $4.6M

French auto was built in 1884
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 11, 2011 4:09 PM CDT
World's Oldest Working Car, 'La Marquise,' Sold for $4.6M
The Marquise.   (RM Auctions)

The oldest car on the planet that still runs was sold at auction Friday for $4.6 million, double auctioneers' expectations. It's the most ever paid for an early automobile, CNNMoney reports. The De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux, a French vehicle built in 1884, arrived more than a decade before Henry Ford built the first of his cars in a garage.

Nicknamed "La Marquise," the car, sold in Hershey, Pa., was built for its company's founder and took part in the reputed first-ever automobile race. It runs on coal, wood, and paper and can reach a maximum of 38 mph. The vehicle was last sold in 2007 for $3.5 million. (More cars stories.)

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