Frank J. Enger of Cincinnati, Ohio, founded the Enger Motor Company in 1909, in order to fulfill his ambition of building automobiles. His first effort was a two-cylinder, 14 hp high-wheeler introduced that year. Locating the horizontally opposed, air-cooled engine over the front axle, he put a conventional hood over it, so the car looked “conventional” but for the large wheels. There were three models, a Model B runabout and Model C Victoria, both on a 90-inch wheelbase, and an 88-inch-wheelbase Victoria Stanhope. Production records do not survive, but the output cannot have been great.

By 1910 Mr. Enger had abandoned the high-wheel concept and built a conventional car to use a four-cylinder overhead-valve engine he had designed. He continued to build cars, in four-, six-, and twelve-cylinder configuration, until 1917.

This Enger Model B is from the early high-wheel period, and a grand high-wheeler it is. It stands tall but is very much a real car, unlike some others of its genre. Restored to a high standard, it is painted maroon and has full fenders and a forward hood, under which hides the horizontally opposed air-cooled twin-cylinder engine. The chassis in its entirety is painted red, and the comfortable seat for two is upholstered in pleated black leather.

The Enger Motor Company was in business for nine years, building high-wheelers in just one of them. This is a rare chance to purchase one of the best.