This car was built by the owner of an original Mercer Speedster who wanted a less valuable version of his car for shows and parades. The Mercer replica body sits on a Ford Model A engine and chassis dating to 1932.
The Mercer Automobile Company was started by the wealthy Roebling and Kuser families who helped build the Brooklyn Bridge. The T-head Raceabout was announced late in 1910 for the 1911 model year. The designer, Washington A. Roebling II, died in the sinking of the Titanic.
Mercer Speedsters were an early sports car. In 1911 Mercer Speedsters won 5 of the 6 major races they entered. In 1912 at the Los Angeles Speedway, Indy 500 winner Ralf De Palma established 8 new class world records with a Raceabout. That same year a Mercer Raceabout was taken off a showroom floor and won a 200 mile race in Columbus, setting 4 new world’s dirt-track records in the process. The car was a rival of Stutz through 1916.
Speedsters were expensive cars with an average price of about $2,500. There were no less than 500 Speedsters built in a single year. Of that 500, fewer than 150 were Raceabouts.
*The Classic Automobile Collection is viewable during special events and by appointment only. Please call the office for details.
