1931 Reo Royale 8-35 Victoria

Produced by R.E. Olds' second automotive concern, the Reo Royale is one of the forgotten great automobiles of the Classic Era. Consider its advanced specifications: a 358-cubic-inch straight eight-cylinder engine with a crankshaft turning on nine main bearings (à la Packard), large 15-inch hydraulic brakes, thermostatically controlled radiator shutters, one-step chassis lubrication, and a vacuum-operated clutch, all many years ahead of their time and above their price class. It was all wrapped in seductive modern Amos Northrup bodywork—one of the first automotive bodies, in fact, to be styled with a wind tunnel. Top speed was 90 mph, competitive to the finest offerings from Packard and Cadillac.

It was heartbreaking, then, that the Royale, good as it was, could not help Reo's automobile line survive the Great Depression. This engineering and design tour de force was produced for only three years and has since remained a "best-kept secret" among Classic enthusiasts who love to drive and enjoy the handful of survivors.

The Royale 8-35 offered here is one of about five known surviving examples of the Victoria, an especially attractive two-door sedan with a cleverly integrated luggage trunk—removable, in the fashion of the time, but blended into the lines of the tail in such a way that it appears part of the car. It was acquired in the fall of 1995 by Canadian enthusiast Al Johnson of British Columbia and was described at the time as having been freshly cosmetically restored in this striking two-tone red livery, with a cloth interior. The Johnson family retained the Reo as part of their large collection until 2013, at which point it was acquired by the present owner. While not driven in recent years, the car remains in very attractive overall condition and would be ideal for further freshening to enjoy in any number of AACA and CCCA events.

Historian David Brownell famously described the finest products of Wisconsin’s Nash as “Kenosha’s Duesenbergs.” If that is true, then the Reo Royale can aptly be called the Lansing equivalent—an outstandingly engineered automobile with no excuses, of which this is a fine example.