Mecum To Auction 1929 Gar Wood ‘Miss America VIII’ at 2012 Kissimmee Event
Our readers and especially the antique boat collectors among the group will be interested to learn that Miss America VIII, Gar Wood's two-time Harmsworth Trophy winning race boat will be offered at Mecum's Kissimmee Auction as Lot S239, on Saturday Jan. 28, 2012 in Kissimmee, Fla.
A winner of the coveted Harmsworth Trophy in 1929 and 1931, Miss America VIII is fitted with its original one-off Miller V16 1113 CI engines, which were specially designed for Miss America VIII by the legendary Indy car and engine builder, Harry Miller, to break the World's Speed Record. Regarded as the most valuable wooden boat offered by Mecum so far, Miss America VIII is a collectible of historic proportions.
The volume of iconic people and places involved with Miss America VIII over the last 83 years is unprecedented. At the 1931 Harmsworth Trophy race, which is claimed to be the largest attended event in the history of the world to that date, over 600,000 fans witnessed her second victory on the banks of the Detroit River.
After being separated for more than 70 years, Gar Wood's favorite hull of the ten Miss America racing boats and the two original Miller V16 engines are together again. Miss America VIII will return to Florida to be sold at auction less than 100 miles south of Bill France's Daytona Museum of Speed where she was displayed during the 1950s.
Mecum's annual Kissimmee event will kick off 25 years in business for the auction company, who will offer other significant wooden boats including: the first production 1955 Chris-Craft 18' Cobra; a one-of-a-kind 1936 Chris-Craft 21' Utility built specifically for Chris-Craft President, Jay Smith; a 38' Reproduction Rum Runner powered by a Liberty V12 WWI airplane engine; a Canadian-built 1954 24' Greavette Streamliner with original Kermath 6 cylinder and a 1937 Ditchburn. To learn more about these boats, visit www.Mecum.com and click on the Kissimmee "Boats" link.
The Kissimmee Auction takes place at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla. just one week after Daytona's Speed Week. Discovery's Velocity network will broadcast four days of live national TV coverage during the "Mecum Auto Auctions: Muscle Cars & More" show.
For additional information visit www.Mecum.com.
