Miss America VIII, Gar Wood’s two-time Harmsworth Trophy winning raceboat will be offered Jan. 28 at Mecum’s Kissimmee Auction Kissimmee, Fla. as Lot S239.
A winner of the coveted Harmsworth Trophy in 1929 and 1931, Miss America VIII is fitted with its original one-off Miller V16 1113 CI engines, which were specially designed for Miss America VIII by the legendary Indy car and engine builder, Harry Miller, to break the world’s speed record.
After being separated for more than 70 years, Gar Wood’s favorite hull of the 10 Miss America racing boats and the two original Miller V16 engines are together again. Miss America VIII will return to Florida to be sold at auction less than 100 miles south of Bill France’s Daytona Museum of Speed where she was displayed during the 1950s.
Mecum’s annual Kissimmee event will start 25 years in business for the auction company, who will offer other significant wooden boats including: the first production 1955 Chris-Craft 18-foot Cobra; a one-of-a-kind 1936 Chris-Craft 21-foot Utility built specifically for Chris-Craft president Jay Smith; a 38-foot Reproduction Rum Runner powered by a Liberty V12 WWI airplane engine; a Canadian-built 24-foot 1954 Greavette Streamliner with original Kermath 6 cylinder and a 1937 Ditchburn.
To learn more about these boats, visit www.mecum.com and click on the Kissimmee “Boats” link.
