Charles Nash’s automobile company was, in its modern incarnation, still youthful when in September 1920 it introduced a bold new model. The Series 40 took Nash, as historian Beverly Rae Kimes commented, “into a lower price range,” using an overhead-valve four-cylinder engine, which was increased in displacement in successive years for slightly more power. By 1923, the Nash Series 40 was producing almost its namesake, 40 horsepower, from 178.9 cubic inches. It remained otherwise cosmetically much as it had in the prior two seasons, the company apparently having decided not to mess with an otherwise good thing.

Very few of these Nashes have survived compared to their popularly priced brethren from Chevrolet and Ford, and so it is uncommon to see one today. The more is the pity, as they were beautiful little automobiles.

The car offered here, finished in a rich green with black fenders, body-color artillery-style wheels, and dual rear-mounted spares, is one such fortunate survivor. Restored some years ago and still in very attractive overall condition, it was formerly part of the noted Thomas Harrington Collection of Nash automobiles in France, the highest-regarded gathering of the company’s products outside the United States. Afterward it returned to its homeland and into the consignor’s ownership.

This special and rare Nash is offered today to benefit an even more worthy cause, the Spread Ari’s Light Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that provides services to assist families fighting pediatric cancers. These include movement therapy with dedicated therapists in two St. Louis-area hospitals, “wish days” for children around the country, and on-call advice and support, with music therapy being introduced in the near future.

An excellent little automobile of abundant personality and chutzpah, this roadster is offered from a good home into another, with the bonus of supporting a deeply worthy cause.