Locomobile of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was one of the most respected automobile manufacturers in the United States during the early 20th Century, known for producing luxury cars of superb quality with conservative but outstanding engineering. In 1911 the company introduced a 7-liter T-head six-cylinder engine in the Model M. This design would win great acclaim and within a few short years it evolved into the Model 48, which in various series would power all of the company’s “senior” products until its departure from the scene in 1929. Locomobile Model 48s were not often stylish automobiles, but they were always beautifully made and extremely dependable, factors more important to the company’s conservative, wealthy clientele.

The Model 48 offered here is one of the few happy exceptions to the Locomobile rule, in that it is sporty indeed, thanks to a handsome coupe—or “three-passenger sedan”—body that bears the maker’s plates of Locke & Company, a respected New York coachbuilder. Finished in a rich emerald green and yellow, it boasts an interior accommodating two to three persons on overstuffed brown leather seats, with broad, round cushions that feel like favorite armchairs, and a yacht-like dashboard boasting a full complement of Locomobile-badged US-brand gauges. It is believed to retain much of the original upholstery and interior woodwork.

While early history of the example has proved elusive, it was for years part of the famed Imperial Palace Auto Collection in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace sold the car in 1987 to the prominent British broker Charles A.R. Howard, who soon transferred it to his clients, German enthusiasts Helmut and Ivone Peitz. It was from the Peitz collection that Terence E. Adderley acquired the car in 2013. It has since occasionally ventured out to events, most notably the 2016 Concours d’Elegance of America at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, Michigan, but has largely remained on display in the Adderley Collection since purchase. With a bit of freshening, it would be a most eye-catching piece for shows, where its imposing yet rakish design and marvelous engineering are sure to attract many onlookers.