Upon the creation of General Motors in 1908, co-founder and American automobile industry pioneer William C. Durant set out on a buying binge, scooping up smaller companies to bring under what was becoming a colossal corporate umbrella. Among the myriad of makes he acquired were the Detroit-based Rainier Motor Car Company and Welch-Detroit of Saginaw and Detroit, Michigan, respectively. With both marques in dire financial situations, Durant organized the new Marquette Motor Company to assist in the production of both brands.

The Marquette name did not appear on an automobile until 1909, when William Durant decided to enter another of General Motors’ brands, Buick, in racing competitions. The prevailing racing regulations of the day required a new name for competition cars and so the Marquette-Buick was born. With massive, torque-laden four-cylinder engines, they were formidable contenders of the era and driven by such period luminaries as Bob Burman and Louis Chevrolet.

A production version soon followed, introduced in late 1911 as “the outgrowth of two well-established and favorably known cars, the Rainier and the Welch-Detroit.” Marquettes came equipped with enormous 6.8-litrer T-head four-cylinder engines and were offered with two different wheelbase and horsepower options at prices ranging from $3,000 to $4,000. Unfortunately, poor management and Durant’s departure from General Motors led to the discontinuation of the Marquette brand in September 1912 after only one model year of production. However, its reputation for performance and quality lived well beyond its limited production, a fact Buick capitalized on when reusing the Marquette name once again 18 years later for its more economical Series 30.

Offered from the well-respected Conrad Fletcher Collection, this Model 25 Touring is one of the few surviving examples of these Edwardian age automobiles. Riding on a 122-inch wheelbase and equipped with the 40-horsepower iteration of the T-head four-cylinder, this example wears a superb older restoration. Having been the recipient of discerning care under Fletcher’s curation, it would make a significant addition to any early American automobile collection.