1911 Oldsmobile Autocrat Roadster

The Oldsmobile Series 28, also known as the Autocrat, was a mid-level four seat passenger car produced by GM’s Oldsmobile Division for 1911 and 1912. It was based on the top-level Oldsmobile Limited (Series 23, 24, 27) while using a four-cylinder engine, and was manufactured in Lansing, Michigan.

In 1911, Oldsmobile produced four and six cylinder vehicles. The Autocrat was the largest four cylinder vehicle: 500 cu. in. inline four-cylinder engine, four-speed sliding gear transmission, built by Olds and carries a rare sporting roadster body, making it one of Detroit’s first high performance ‘muscle cars.’

The Autocrat received a nice bit of publicity when Oldsmobile entered two factory prototypes at the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island, where team captain Harry Stillman finished a respectable 11th place. Fewer than 1,000 Autocrats were built in 1911, of which only a small percentage were finished as roadsters. Marque experts believe that no more than a handful of examples survive today, with only three currently known.

Over the past 70 years, this Autocrat roadster has had just three owners. It was given a comprehensive restoration in the 2000s, after which the car enjoyed display in a private museum collection. When new, it was apparently finished in the unusual three-passenger roadster configuration. By the early 1950s the car was discovered by Barney Pollard. At some point, the car was converted to a service vehicle of some kind with an elevated floodlight in place of the rear seat.

The remarkable part of the performance lies in the fact that whereas the car was new and of a design never tried out in a contest of any nature. It went through without a single adjustment and without one tire change. This last statement about no tire changes is quite astonishing, given the quality of tires in this era.

Dubbed with a name that could only have emerged from of the age of empire, the Oldsmobile Autocrat was a mid-range model introduced for 1911. Less than 1,000 of these, mid range, oldsmobiles were built, of which only 3 are known to survive. They say nobody remembers who finishes second, but in this case, baltimore entrepreneur john greenway albert made quite an impression in the 1915 labor day race in Washington, DC.