Although it was Karl Benz who first made the motor car a viable proposition his primitive slow-revving engines and designs were left on the starting blocks when Panhard brought in the Système Panhard, a design that was to mould the future of the motor car for the next century, and when De Dion Bouton introduced their fast-revving engines in the last decade of the 19th Century.

Early rear-engined De Dion Boutons, gave way to a new generation of front-engined cars for the 1902 season, again single-cylinder models with atmospheric inlet valve and mechanical exhaust valve.

De Dion's gearbox was virtually foolproof for the first time car driver, the fast-revving engines were supremely reliable and De Dion back-up and service was second-to-none.

This car so typifies the front-engined De Dion Bouton introduced for the 1902 season but reflects so many of the improvements during the period 1902 to 1906, not least of which is the three-speed gearbox.

The history of this car is unclear but it...