Auto Franklin Series 15 Town Car 1931 zu verkaufen

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To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' Sealed June event, Bidding Closes 24-26 June 2026.
Offered Without Reserve | $90,000 - $110,000 USD

Believed to have been the only example built
A fabulous and very elegant “semi-custom” on the air-cooled Franklin chassis
Formerly owned by Jim Mills and Harrah’s Automobile Collection
Recipient of a Harrah’s restoration in 1968; still in very attractive condition
In present ownership for a remarkable 37 years
A CCCA Full Classic

Semi-custom and custom bodies on the air-cooled Franklin chassis were always great rarities. Among the most beautiful were those produced for the 1931 Series 15 chassis by the Derham Body Company of Rosemont, Pennsylvania, a firm renowned both in its time and at present for the quality of its construction and the breadth of its skill at building both sporty and formal bodies of equal beauty. Two intact surviving Derham-bodied Series 15s are known, including the car offered here, the only known surviving Derham town car on a Franklin chassis. It may well have been the sole example made in 1931.

The town car was reportedly delivered new in Los Angeles, always a hotbed of sales for Franklin. In the World War II era it was brought to Oregon, and in 1947 was for sale for $200 in a used car lot in Coquille, then made its way to a storage lot in North Bend. It was acquired from the lot by the early and very avid Franklin connoisseur Jim Mills, well-remembered in air-cooled circles for his extensive travels in his 1931 Speedster.

In 1967 the town car became one of the numerous Franklins in the vast Harrah’s Automobile Collection, which would eventually acquire over eighty examples of Syracuse’s finest car. As Harrah’s bemusedly wrote in a 1968 issue of the Franklin Club’s Air-Cooled News, “We had heard the price was $200, but when [Harrah’s executive] Bud [Catlett] went to deal on the car, the owner said he had just read a Franklin article that said town cars were rare, so it cost us $450.” The car was in rather run-down condition, which was, of course, no problem for Harrah’s, which took just over a year to return the car to its original magnificence in time for the 1968 Franklin Trek. Afterward Harrah’s featured the car in their well-known series of picture postcards and in several of their published rosters.

The car eventually passed with many other exceptional ex-Harrah’s automobiles in late 1987 to collector General William Lyon, then was sold in January 1989 into the present collection, one where it has now quietly resided alongside other significant Franklins for the past 37 years. Its typically excellent Harrah’s restoration, always ahead of their time in the quality and authenticity of their finishes, remains well-preserved overall, with light signs of age and use.

This remains one of the most elite and handsome of all surviving Franklins, and with its Derham coachwork an ideal addition to either the Franklin Trek or any number of Classic Car Club of America events.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/s0626/.