4-Cylinder L-Head Air Cooled Engine
2-Speed Sliding Gear Transmission
Full Elliptic Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear Mechanical Brakes

*Veteran Car Club dated
*Eligible for the British Bonhams London to Brighton Run
*A thorough restoration, followed by museum storage
*One of very few survivors of the brand
*Great Indianapolis brand with racing history

THE PREMIER

Indianapolis, Indiana has always been the heart of American motorsports. Known today for the 500, Indianapolis was home to some of the greatest sporting car manufacturers in America, such as the Stutz and Premier. Like Stutz, Premier used racing to help develop its road cars. Best known for having a sensational air-cooled machine produced for the Vanderbilt Cup Race, the Premier was barred from competition for being 60 pounds' overweight. However, they still ran three entries in the 1916 Indianapolis 500, achieving excellent results with their road going cars. Premier also received a perfect score in three consecutive Glidden Reliability tours.

Premier was a technically advanced car from the outset. In an era of single-cylinder planetary-transmission cars, the first Premier model in 1903 featured an over-head valve four-cylinder engine and a sliding gear transmission, initially favoring air-cooling for its designs.

Contemporary advertisements described the Model F's four-cylinder air-cooled motor as being of 16hp, offering a speed range of 5-40 mph and they promoted the fact that on its 10-gallon tank capacity it could cover one hundred and eighty-two miles. Power to weight ratios are nothing new and they would boldly claim "More horsepower per hundred pounds that any car built in America", the quoted price was $1,400 F.O.B. Indianapolis.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

This very handsome Premier automobile is one of two survivors from this early period of the marque, the other a twin cylinder example appropriately resides in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. It was brought to the attention of its current owner in the late 1980s having been found in tired but substantially complete order.

True to the passion of its owner, the car was restored in an exacting standard based on the information available on this little-known era of the brand. The stated schemes for the model were a Brewster Green body, with 'maroon or canary running gear', the latter being chosen. A new body was constructed in keeping with period images of these cars choosing a rear entrance tonneau body over its original side entrance tonneau.

On completion of its restoration in 1999 an application was made to the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain for its dating and by June 2000 a date of 1904 was confirmed. Since that time, the Premier has seen only modest use and ultimately did not travel to the U.K. to take part in the run. That opportunity now awaits its next owner or to be enjoyed on the numerous excellent events run by the Horseless Carriage Club of America.