Oldest surviving Ford sold for $ 630,000

Phoenix, Jan 20: A 1903 Model A, considered to be the oldest surviving Ford, sold for 0,000 at a collector car auction in Phoenix.

Following a flurry of bidding at a Phoenix resort, well-known Houston lawyer John O'Quinn took home the brick-red, black-upholstered car that was one of the first three sold by newly incorporated Ford Motor Co.

Pre-auction estimates had pegged the sale price at between 0,000 and 0,000.

''History, history, history,'' O'Quinn told sources, when asked why he bought the vehicle. ''There are a lot of great cars in the world, but Ford is the basic car of America.'' The rare vehicle has had only four owners since it rolled out of the shop on Mack Avenue in Detroit along with two other cars.

It was originally sold to butter-maker Herbert McNary of Britt, Iowa, who plunked down a 170 dollar deposit on the 880 dollar vehicle. It was last owned by an undisclosed individual who bought it in 2001.

O'Quinn, well known in Houston for winning several major plaintiff verdicts, said the Ford will be displayed in an automotive history museum he plans to open in three years in the city.

The avid collector owns more than 800 vehicles, including a 1938 Duesenberg SJ Rollson Limousine he also bought yesterday for 2.55 million dollars.

The sale, conducted by RM Auctions Inc., of Ontario, Canada, is one of five held by different auction houses in January in the Phoenix area. Last year, collectors spent more than 165 million dollars for the keys to a wide range of collector cars.

REUTERS