1901 International Charette

Sold for $77,000 at 2014 RM Auctions - Hershey.
The International Motor Car Company, of London, England was not related to the International Harvester Company of the United States. The International Motor Car Company, however, did not build cars at all; instead, the cars were built to their order by firms in France and England and then given the International name and sold in the United Kingdom.

The Charette was manufactured in Coventry by the Allard Company, which had previously built tricycles and cars under their own label from 1899 until 1902, using engines based on the de Dion design.

The International Charette was fitted with a water-cooled engine that was mounted in the front and powered the rear wheels via two leather belts. It is believed that this example was sold new at the London Motor Show to a Mr. Driver. It remained in his family until the 1960s when his daughter rescued its pieces from storage and its engine from use powering a saw and then reached out to the Veteran Car Club for advice in restoration. The car was then treated to a restoration in its present finish and dated a 1901 by the VCC, allowing it to be driven eight times (with six finished) in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Mr. Andrew Simpson and his wife drove the car on three of those journeys. The current owner, Mr. John Moir, later purchased the vehicle.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2014