World War I Vet’s 1914 Stutz Bearcat Hidden For Three Decades Is Worth $2.2 Million
He fought for freedom in World War I, but had to give up a little when he got home.
A rare 1914 Stutz Bearcat 4E that crossed the block at the Mecum Auctions event in Dallas has an even more interesting history than many of the remaining examples of what is considered by many to be the first American sports car.
The Indianapolis-built two-seater came powered by a 389-cubic-inch 60 hp four-cylinder and had a top speed of around 80 mph, which was blistering for the era.
Iowan John Hopkins and his brother were given new Bearcats by their father, but had to put them in storage when they went off to fight in World War I in 1917, according to Mecum.
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Both defied the odds to return home safely and their father was so grateful that he paid them each $1,000 to never drive the speedy, but dangerous cars again. That amount is the equivalent of roughly $20,000 today and is twice what the Bearcat sold for when it was new.
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The cars sat untouched until 1951, when they were purchased by Paul Kelsey, who brought it home to Minnesota and used it in vintage automobile events. He later moved to Missouri and opened a museum, which closed in 1994. It and the rest of the collection had remained in the family since then, but several dozen were put up for sale at the Mecum Dallas auction.
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The car is one of a handful like it that remain and has 10,226 miles on its odometer, but a new owner won’t be putting any more on it quite yet.
The high bid of $2.2 million it received wasn’t enough to meet the undisclosed reserve, but we can venture a guess at how much it was. A similar 1914 4E Bearcat was sold at the Gooding & Company Pebble Beach auction in 2021 for $2.92 million.
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Another Indiana-built car from the museum was sold for an impressive amount, however. The 1933 Auburn 12-165 Salon Speedster is one of just five of the 14 that were built known to remain and is unrestored, aside from a single repaint it received in the 1960. It went for $990,000.
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