c.1899 GEC Light Electric Town Runabout Chassis no. 8 (see...

c.1899 GEC Light Electric Town Runabout
Registration no. DS 6611
Chassis no. 8 (see text)
Engine no. 909060
• One of very few survivors of a short-lived American make
• Believed the only example in the UK
• Formerly displayed in the Grampian Motor Museum, Myreton Motor Museum and, later, Lennoxlove House
• Requires recommissioning/restoration

"On 3rd June 1898, the General Electric Automobile Company of Philadelphia was organised with a factory in Manyunck. Chief instigator of the organisation was John A Brill of the trolley and electrical equipment-producing J G Brill Company. The chief feature of the General Electric was a very light battery (700 pounds instead of the usual thousand)... which allowed for a thirty-mile range between charges, a commendable distance for this early period. A doctor's dos-a-dos, a brougham and a delivery wagon were put into production." - Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942.

Not to be confused with the American conglomerate, the General Electric Company, which made a handful of experimental-only electric cars at around the same time, the General Electric Automobile Company was destined for a short life, with 1899 being the last year of production following its sale to pay creditors. The outboard chain drive system is similar to Hiram Percy Maxim's Columbia electrics of the same era.

Purchased in the late 1980s by Scotland's premier peer - Angus Douglas-Hamilton, 15th Duke of Hamilton (1938-2010) - this rare early electric car has been kept on display at various museums in Scotland, including the Grampian Motor Museum, Myreton Motor Museum and, later, Lennoxlove House.

Correspondence and an old (part) V5 document on file shows that the previous owner was a Mr David Leach of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire (from 1982). Dated 22nd March 1982, a copy letter on fle from Michael Ware, then Curator of the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, states: "There are very few if any other General Electric cars in the world and certainly this is the only one within the United Kingdom. I also believe this could be the earliest, or one of the earliest electric cars of any make in Great Britain." Additional paperwork consists of other correspondence; hand-written operating instructions; and a dating letter from the Science Museum.

This GEC is basically a buggy with timber chassis and leaf springs, modified for electric power. The two control levers provide high or low speeds plus reverse, while retardation is achieved by a foot-operated transmission brake. VCC correspondence on file from 1986 records their satisfaction that the body is of the period and not a modification and is therefore eligible for VCC rallies and events. Documentation offered comprises of the aforementioned VCC correspondence, V5C, old style V5 and various letters.

Not used for some considerable time, the GEC will require recommissioning or possibly more extensive restoration before returning to the road and thus is sold strictly as viewed. It should be noted that the V5C states the chassis number as '8' but at the time of cataloguing we have been unable to locate the chassis number.