For this past National Collector’s Car day that happened July 8, eBay Motors celebrated by holding an auction which hoped to break the site’s record for the most expensive vehicle ever sold. The vehicle is one of the nine remaining General Motors’ Futurliner bus.
The Futurliners were built for the 1939 New York World’s Fair to show off the technology GM had at the time. GM built 12 Futurliners to the tune of $2 million in today’s dollars. They were 33 feet long, just shy of 12 feet tall, and used a 400 HP motor. Once the World’s Fair was finished, the Futurliners toured the U.S. under the “Parade of Progress” banner, showing the nation the technology the future.
This particular one going on sale was found in a New York corn field in 1997 before being brought back to life by Coach Builders of Springfield, Massachusetts.
Update: The auction fell well short of the projections, and the Futurliner went for $505,600, well short of the $2 million estimation. However, it’s not quite clear if the owners are going to part with it for such a low-ball price.Â
Source: Autoblog
Comments
I think Barret Jackson would have been a better venue, what with the exightment of live bidding and all.
Barret Jackson would have been a much better venue but the economic climate is not exactly ripe for a bidding war over an old bus. =)
The bus is owned by the owners of Peter Pan bus lines, according to a local artical.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/peter_pan_futurliner_goes_unso.html