Few cars of the Brass Era inspire the reverence held for the Mercer Raceabout. Built in Trenton, New Jersey, by the Roebling and Kuser families – of Brooklyn Bridge fame – and engineered by Finley Robertson Porter, the Raceabout was conceived with a single-minded purpose: speed.

It was stark, elemental, and thrilling – “no useless gadgets,” as the late automotive writer Ken Purdy once noted, describing his own Mercer as a car in which “the merest twitch of the steering wheel will pull you around the car ahead.” He went on to write: “A good Mercer Raceabout will cruise all day at 60, show 70 or more on demand, and it has the steering and road-holding to go with its speed.”

Thanks to its lightweight construction, well-chosen gear ratios, and Porter’s inspired engineering, the Raceabout did not just look fast – it was fast. From its early success at the 1911 Panama-Pacific Light Car Race to top finishes in the Vanderbilt Cup, the Indianapolis 500, and countless board-track and hill climb events, the Raceabout earned a fearsome reputation. It was a thoroughbred in an era of plow horses, and its performance allowed it to be driven from showroom to racetrack – with a fair chance of winning on arrival.

With just a handful of genuine T-Head Raceabouts built and far fewer surviving, these cars have remained at the top of collectors’ wish lists for decades. Nothing else looks like them, nothing sounds like them, and nothing drives quite like a Mercer Raceabout.

The Type 35-C Raceabout offered here hails from the second year of T-head production: 1912.

It first appears in New York State registration records in 1916, under the ownership of Percy Marks Cushing, a resident of Babylon, on Long Island’s south shore. Born in 1884, Cushing was an avid outdoorsman, dog trainer, and writer whose articles appeared in Vogue. In a 1954 article, Newsday noted that Cushing had been “driving since 1909 and had raced with professional speed king Ralph DePalma.”

Little else is known of Cushing’s ownership or the Raceabout’s early years until 1941, when it was discovered by Alec Ulmann.

Widely regarded as the father of American professional sports car racing, MIT graduate Alexander Edward Ulmann was one of the earliest members of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and won its very first race in 1947 at the wheel of this Mercer.

After attending the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1950, Ulmann brought endurance racing to the US at Sebring, Florida. By 1953, the 12 Hours of Sebring was part of the FIA World Championship, and Ulmann had attracted the greatest international teams and drivers – including Juan Manuel Fangio, who earned his only victories on American soil at Sebring. Ulmann also brought Formula 1 to America and was an avid collector, with a stable of important classics including Bugattis, Hispano-Suizas, and Mercedes.

In October 1941, Ulmann, mechanic Charlie Stich, and historian Smith Hempstone Oliver ventured to the south shore of Long Island to recover this remarkably intact, but well-used Mercer Raceabout from long-term storage. Oliver, writing in Automobile Topics, recalled the experience in vivid detail:

“On October 25 that fall, armed with a large jack and an assortment of tools, as well as a special towing bar designed and constructed by Charlie Stich, whose famous establishment at 337 East 64th Street, New York City, has for over a quarter of a century been a haven of refuge for antique and exotic automobiles in need of restoration or repair, Stich and I drove out to Brightwaters, Long Island, in Ulmann’s station wagon to retrieve the rare find…

“Arriving at the small private garage where the car was stored Stich and I saw the car for the first time, and immediately realized that here was a major restoration job…Many months at the Stich establishment saw a complete renovation of the car into what was probably a better version than when new… Engine, clutch, gearbox, and differential were thoroughly overhauled, a new wooden dash was fabricated, the body was reupholstered and the car was repainted in dark blue, with cream striping and running gear…

“The Ulmann Mercer made its debut before the admiring members of the Veteran Motor Car Club of America when it appeared at the club’s outing at the Fairfield County Hunt Club at Westport, Connecticut, on July 25, 1942… From that time on, Ulmann entered the Mercer in many pageants, demonstration races for old cars (such as at Bridgehampton, Long Island), and other events of this type. The last such Ulmann presentation of the car, however, was during the Glidden Tour of September 1952, terminating at Washington, D.C., at the conclusion of which the car once again changed ownership. Myron G. Darby, Jr., of Lawrenceville, N.J., became the proud possessor of what is one of only approximately two dozen extant examples of this exceedingly rare model of the famous Mercer automobile.”

Soon after acquiring this Raceabout, Myron G. “Bud” Darby Jr. was profiled in The Roebling Record:

“How does a person become a collector of these ancient vehicles? In Darby’s case the yearning just sort of grew, so he says, so much that his wife, Peggy, while somewhat of an enthusiast herself, thinks there’s a limit to how far her husband should go and also how much time he should spend tinkering with his Mercers… Having a hobby like this, Darby isn’t satisfied with knowing how the Mercers click, he’s trying to uncover who did the clicking… If Darby can collect enough data he plans to write a short history.”

Between 1954 and 1957, Mr. Darby commissioned a full restoration by Great Valley Shops Inc. of Villanova, Pennsylvania. According to a letter on file, during its restoration the Raceabout was fitted with a new frame and refinished in the elegant, light gray color scheme it wears today. In 1964, he loaned the car to the State of New Jersey for display in the Tercentenary Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair. The Mercer remained in Mr. Darby’s collection for decades before being sold to Willet H. Brown of Los Angeles.

Mr. Brown, former executive vice president of the Don Lee Broadcasting System, inherited the famed Tommy Lee car collection in 1950 following his tragic passing. That collection included Alfa Romeos, Talbot-Lagos, and a 166 MM Barchetta – the first Ferrari imported into the US. A passionate enthusiast himself, Mr. Brown added important cars to his own Hillcrest Collection – including a Porsche 550 Spyder, a LaSalle Boattail Roadster by Frank Kurtis, and an Isotta-Fraschini Indianapolis racer.

After Mr. Brown’s death, his collection was sold at auction in June 1995, where this Mercer was acquired by Stan Lucas.

For the past 30 years, the Raceabout has remained a centerpiece of the Stan Lucas Collection. During his ownership, Mr. Lucas made only modest refinements – notably painting the wheels body color – while preserving the car’s Darby-era restoration. He exhibited the Mercer selectively, including at the 2009 Mercer Centennial Reunion in Trenton and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® in 2012.

Today, it presents beautifully in its distinctive light gray livery and retains the hallmarks of a T-Head Raceabout, including its proper in-sequence 35-C engine, no. 383.

Among the most celebrated and iconic cars built before WWII, the Mercer Raceabout is the quintessential Brass Era sports car – a pure, purpose-built machine that has captivated collectors for generations. T-Head Raceabouts with continuous, documented provenance are exceptionally rare; experts agree that fewer than 20 survive in original configuration.

This car is one of the best-known survivors. Discovered by Alec Ulmann in 1941, restored by Charlie Stich, shown at early VMCCA meets, and driven to victory in the SCCA’s inaugural race at Langhorne in 1947, this Mercer wasn’t just a witness to history, but was an active participant in the birth of American car collecting and sports car culture. Cherished by a lineage of respected owners – Ulmann, Darby, Brown, and Lucas – this Raceabout carries a significant legacy.

Gooding Christie’s is proud to offer this extraordinary 1912 Mercer 35-C, one of the few Raceabouts that possess a continuous history dating back to 1916. Its availability at auction represents a rare and possibly unrepeatable opportunity to acquire one of the most important American antiques in existence.