In 2007, the Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction sold a group of antique autos that were being liquidated by a mid western car museum. One of the vehicles, a 1904 Fiat, drew particular interest. Bright red with tufted black leather seats and shiny brass fixtures, this restored 4 cylinder touring car was the oldest vehicle to go on the block that day. By the end of the day, this magnificent specimen was sold for more than $209,000.

What made this car so interesting was that its very first owner lived on Cape Cod. It was bought while a young couple was honeymooning in Europe.

On June 27, 1902 George Agassiz of Barnstable and Mabel Simpkins of Yarmouth Port were joined in marriage. The bride was the youngest daughter of John Simpkins and sister to Congressman John Simpkins. Mabel was a beautiful young woman who had often accompanied her brother to gala events in Washington, DC. She also happened to be the Library Commissioner for Cape Cod and a local benefactress. She and her family resided part of the time at the family home called Sandyside, which was nestled in the village of Yarmouth Port on Dennis Pond.

George Agassiz was the son of Alexander Agassiz, the scientist and the grandson of Swiss naturalist, Louis Agassiz. George was an astronomer who later had a radio telescope named for him at Harvard University. He too traveled among the upper eschelons of society and the local newspapers often reported on his visits to Newport as he mingled among the well-to-do. It was not an extraordinary move to take his bride on an extended honeymoon abroad since they were an adventurous and well traveled pair.

While abroad, Mr. and Mrs. Agassiz may have heard about a relatively new company that was formed in July, 1899 at Palazzo Bricherasio. Fabbrica Italiano Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory at Turin) is known to us simply as Fiat. Impressed with the new 24/32 model, they placed an order for the car. All Fiat sales in the United States and Canada went through Hollander & Tengeman of New York and it is believed they handled the sale and delivery for Mr. and Mrs. Agassiz. The selling price for this beautiful car was $9,000 (nearly $300,000 in today’s dollars).

Mabel enjoyed riding around the Cape roads in her shiny red car. License plate number 3089 was issued to George Agassiz of Yarmouth Port in 1904. At that time, only 16 vehicles were registered on Cape Cod and only one other in Yarmouth Port (the other was registered to a Robert Rogers). Mabel was one of the first women drivers on the Cape; a local newspaper reported she had a small accident when she drove off the road in Plymouth. Mabel’s brother Charles Simpkins also enjoyed driving the sporty touring car, but after his death in 1931 she stopped driving it. In 1932 Mrs. Agassiz made a decision about what to do with her car. She was so attached to it, not wanting to sell it, that she had it buried on the grounds of her family home in Yarmouth Port.

It was about 1942 when Ted Robertson of Boston, and founder of the Sports Car Club of America, heard about the buried car. He approached the Agassiz family to see if they would allow him to exhume the vehicle from its sandy grave. With the help of his friends Jack Duby and Al Paradis and some long rods, they located the car intact on its back, wheels removed, and seats missing, like a corpse lying in repose. Ted bought it from the family for $50. Robertson then sold it two years later to D. Cameron Peck of Chicago who put the wheels back on. Peck sold it to Clay Clayberg for $500 who had Tom Carstens of Tacoma, Washington rebuild the oiler.

In 1952, Clayberg wanted to dispose of the Fiat and offered to give it to David Uihlein with the condition that David pay to ship the car from Tacoma to Milwaukee and he had to agree to restore it. The Uihlein Collection, a race car museum in Cedarburg, acquired Clayberg’s vehicle and intensive restoration began, taking nearly 40 years. The final result was a bright red car with upholstered black leather and a black canvas top that could reach speeds of 70 miles per hour.

The FIAT touring car was auctioned in 2007 and purchased by a man in the Netherlands who brought the car to England every year for the famous London to Brighton Run. Internet research indicates the car recently sold again. Remarkably, after being buried, and at 120 years old, it is still on the road.

The Agassiz Fiat making the London to Brighton run.

Excerpted from an article researched and written by Maureen Rukstalis.