Marmon HCM V12 2-Door Sedan Prototype to Fetch $1M at Auction

Despite its short existence, the Marmon Motor Car Company did manage to give birth to some extraordinary vehicle, one of them actually being put up for auction at the forthcoming Monterey event. The example in question is a 1932 Marmon HCM V12 2-door sedan prototype vehicle, which is estimated to fetch between $800,000-$1,000,000.

Potential buyers must know they are facing a car of exceptional historical importance. “The Marmon HCM is one of the most significant yet relatively unknown prototype cars ever built,” RM Auctions explains.

At that time, the V12 engine under the hood developed 151 bhp at 3,700 rpm, three-quarters of the V-16’s output from an engine three-quarters its size. Initial tests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July of 1932 confirmed acceleration from 10 to 50 mph in 12.77 seconds, with a 113-mph maximum speed clocked with racing driver Wilbur Shaw at the wheel.

Built in a special shop in a corner of Marmon’s plant, the HCM was personally financed by Howard Marmon at an estimated cost of $160,000, and upon completion in the fall of 1933, the company was in receivership. Howard Marmon and George Freers took it on a tour of the nation’s auto manufacturers to see if someone else could produce it. However, none of the Big Three, nor any of the independents, were interested. In the end, Marmon took the car home to his North Carolina estate and wrapped it in cellophane.

Most recently, the car has underwent extensive restoration work, being completely disassembled and rebuilt, finished with the correct shade of light tan. Completed in 2001, it was reunited with its designer in an emotional moment at that year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, compounded by the car’s achieving a perfect score and winning Best in Class.