The 100-year-old racing car that just sold for a world record £5.5MILLION – and it’s a PEUGEOT
A 100-YEAR-OLD Peugeot dubbed "the father of all race cars" has sold for a world record £5.5million.
The 1913 L45 was capable of a top speed of over 100mph - quicker than a modern day Peugeot 108.
It was originally expected to sell for £4million but, when it hit auction, it sent collectors into a frenzy.
Its eventual sale price is around 350 times above the average cost of a brand new model from the French firm - and FOUR times more than the record fee ever paid at auction for a Peugeot.
The French maker is better known for affordable family cars but this two-seater is one of the most important cars in motorsport history.
It was launched at a time when Peugeot dominated racing, building rapid machines to take on Grand Prix races in the US.
And the L45 car was fitted with a revolutionary 4.5-litre, 112bhp engine - prompting rivals to immediately copy the design.
When World War One broke out, the L45 was shipped to the USA where it was raced at Indianapolis.
The car came third at Indy in 1916 and is the only survivor of four Peugeot L45 racing cars.
American farmer and car enthusiast Lindley Bothwell bought the Peugeot in 1949 and it has remained in his family collection ever since.
The 1913 Peugeot 4.5-Litre L45 is not only regarded by many as the father of all racing engines, but this specific car ran in the 1916 Indianapolis 500.
Decades later when Bothwell took the Peugeot back to Indianapolis to compete in the Veteran Class, he beat Dario Resta's 85mph lap record at over 103mph - a record that had stood for 30 years.
In 2003 and 2011, it was driven up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex.
The model had been described as "tremendously historic and full of provenance" and "one of the most original and pure racing cars of this era" by Bonhams auction house.
Rupert Banner, vice president of motoring at Bonhams, added: "We are delighted with the outcome.
"We're grateful for the confidence placed in us by the Bothwell family trustees and pleased to see the strength in the market."
