1911→1914 Mercer Series 35

The Mercer Racebout was one of Americas first sports cars and one of the most important cars made during the brass age. At the time of manufacture, the car was guaranteed to do 70 mph in a time when very few people had gone over 50.

The Mercer Automobile Company was already well established, since it was the Walter Automobile Company which began in 1902. The factory in Trenton, New Jersey was eventually bought by the Roebling family which was famous for building the Brooklyn Bridge. They embarked on an ambitious plan to build road cars.

The first Mercer was the Type 30 and the Type 35 became Mercer’s second car. It had a new T-shaped cylinder head designed by Finley Robertson Porter that produced around 60 bhp. At the time, the Porter engine was running on much higher compression than it’s contemporary cars and could produce more horsepower from less displacement. This meant the Type 35 was both powerful and light and essentially became the first production race car. The first Mercers featured a T-head engine which utilized massive 2.25 inch valves. These valves, with high-compression pistons and high lift cams, offered 56 horsepower at 1900 rpm.

The Mercer Raceabout was low-slung car. The engine sat deep into the chassis providing for a low center of gravity. Furthermore a low driving position was achieved thanks to the extremely raked steering column.

When built for racing, Mercer sold the raceabout bodywork which was stripped of all amenities. This was sold without a windshield, soft-top and even had no bodywork over the rear of the car. Furthermore the fenders, running boards and lights were designed to be detachable which transformed the car into Grand Prix guide in about 20 minutes. For more civil travel, Mercer offered the Runabout which was the same car fitted with a starter, generator, windshield, soft top and optional doors.

From the beginning, Mercer racked up a number of race wins on both dirt tracks and hill climbs. Mercer however was unable to achieve the coveted win at Indianapolis. Main competition in motor sports came from companies such as Stutz and Simplex which used more brute force over precision. J.B.

Mercer historian and registry keeper Stan Smith estimates that 1,700 T-head cars came from Mercer between 1911 to 1914. Of these about 1/3 came with the Raceabout body and 1/4 had Runabout coachwork.

Chassis & Sales

1281 – The example featured here, chassis #1281, was sold by Christies Motor Cars at their 2002 Pebble Beach Auction for $865,500 USD.