The Herreshoff name requires no introduction to the student of American boating but may be less familiar in connection with automobiles. Charles Herreshoff was the nephew of J.B. and Nathaniel Herreshoff, whose yachts utterly dominated the America’s Cup at the turn of the 20th century, winning the event every year from 1893 to 1920.

His uncles, however, preferred steam power, and Charles was devoted to the internal combustion engine. He eventually left Rhode Island for Detroit, where he developed the potent engine of the 1908 Thomas-Detroit, then introduced his own automobile a year later. “A Car Worthy of the Name,” the Herreshoff rode its namesake’s family coattails with no shame, but it also lived up to the slogan. It was a well-designed, heartily built car. Alas, the Herreshoff was doomed to a short life by internal squabbles and better-funded, well-organized competition. Made for only four years, it is believed that only about half a dozen remain in existence.

The car offered here, one of those rarities, is also the finest iteration of the marque. Built solely in the last season of production, the Model 30 used a modern four-cylinder engine, cast in a single block with enclosed valvetrain, delivering 30 horsepower through a three-speed sliding-gear transmission. It was also notable for having left-hand-drive, still a rarity on an American car of this era, which Herreshoff introduced in 1911.

The consignor of this runabout acquired it in 2009 from the collection of Dr. Barbara Atwood of Rockford, Illinois, well-known for her many successes in the Antique Automobile Club of America, Classic Car Club of America, and concours competitions during the 1980s. Dr. Atwood appears to have acquired it elsewhere in the Midwest, as the dashboard bears a badge from a 1974 event in Minnesota. One of the few Brass Era cars in the Atwood stable, this Herreshoff wears a charming older restoration in deep green with red leather upholstery and is equipped with gas headlamps, electric side lamps, a Boyce MotoMeter, and a canvas top.

It remains very much “worthy of the name.”