The 1909 Austin Model 60 debuted at the Chicago Auto Show, where Charles Herbst of Lima, Ohio, bought it straight off the floor for $5,000. In 1946, the Herbst family sold it to Detroit trucking magnate Barney Pollard, one of America’s first serious car collectors. Pollard entered the 1909 Austin in the Glidden Tours of 1947 and 1953.

After decades in the Crawford Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, the 1909 Austin Model 60 was restored in 2003 by its third owner. Remarkably, it remains almost entirely original, with only the dashboard replaced. It has never been fully dismantled. This rare brass-era automobile stands as a testament to Austin’s craftsmanship, exclusivity, and the golden age of hand-built cars.

Company History

Walter Austin, son of Michigan lumber baron James E. Austin, founded the Austin Automobile Company in Grand Rapids in 1903. The first Austin was a large two-cylinder car with a 90-inch wheelbase. Each year, Austin cars grew bigger, more powerful, and more refined. Austin refused to mass-produce his vehicles, building only 575 between 1903 and 1920. Exclusive clients included William Randolph Hearst and boxing champion Jack Johnson.