1907 Stanley H4 Speedy Roadster – Classified of the Week

Back during the infancy of the automobile, petrol was not the only means of propulsion. In fact, in these early days, there were three popular choices. There was, of course, petrol. There was electric, and there was steam. The interesting reality is that electricity and steam were the most popular. The petrol engine was seen as a noisy, dirty, smelly method of getting about. Electric was then, as it is now, seen as clean. Steam, well, that was a known quantity thanks to the advance of the steam train and of course, steam powered industrial machines. There was little infrastructure in place to support a petrol vehicle – no Shell station on every corner. But everyone had water and a bit of kerosene – key ingredients for a steam car. 

The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was all too familiar with steam, having made steam-powered carriages for some ten years before building the car you’re looking at here. However, they were traditionally ‘runabouts’ or touring models. They weren’t built for performance. This car though, the H4, would change all that. The steam GTi, if you will.

The 1906-7 Stanley catalogue makes for exciting reading: ‘Our Gentlemen’s Speedy Roadster is a light car for two people, and is the fastest stock car in the world… It is indeed a gentlemen’s’ speeding car, and is intended for those who wish to hit up a speed of 75 or 80 miles an hour on a good safe road, without going to the expense of importing a $10,000 racing machine with its noisy cylinders and high expense for tires and maintenance.’ 

To go 80mph in 1907 is a bit like going 200mph today. It was a blistering speed that only the bravest, most mustachioed of motorists should attempt. Whether or not anyone actually did 80mph and survived remains to be seen. 

Powered by a 20hp steam boiler with a twin-acting engine, the Gentleman’s Speedy Roadster, as it was marketed, was primed with kerosene, it would seat two, and it came with luxuries like rubber tires, spoked wheels and, erm, lights. That was about your lot. No roof, no doors, no boot. Just two seats strapped to a steam engine and some wheels. Bonkers, but brilliant. 

This 1907 model has been fastidiously cared for over the years. The boiler has been replaced and certificated. The block and frames, too. The paint has been restored, along with the wheels, the seats and the acres of brass fittings. It is a truly beautiful car from a crucial point in history, when the automobile was searching for its proper identity. 

A car so significant doesn’t come cheap, of course. This 1907 H4 Gentleman’s Speedy Racer will set you back some £150,000. But honestly, it’s money well spent. This is a perfectly preserved, cared for, running and driving slice of history. You almost certainly won’t find another, that’s for sure.