Upon acquiring the Crane Motor Car Company in 1914, the Simplex Automobile Company gained the expertise of Henry M. Crane, a brilliant engineer with experience in the telephone, boating, and automobile industries. Crane designed a new car to replace the company’s original Mercedes Simplex-inspired model, with its T-head four-cylinder engine and chain drive. The resulting Crane-Simplex Model 5 featured a smooth-running L-head six-cylinder engine and shaft drive. With a chassis priced at $5,000, the Model 5 was the most expensive American car of its time, appealing to elite buyers like John D. Rockefeller and Frederick William Vanderbilt. These wealthy customers commissioned bespoke, custom bodies from old-line coachbuilders like Brewster, Frederick R. Wood, Demarest, Holbrook, and Kimball.

In 1916, Wright-Martin Aircraft bought Simplex and shifted to manufacturing aircraft engines for WWI. Before transitioning, about 465 Crane-Simplex cars were built, with the cost of a chassis rising to $7,000 by 1917. After the war, Wright-Martin ceased auto production but offered Model 5 chassis by special order until 1919. In 1920, Simplex merged with Hare’s Motors, which also acquired Mercer and Locomobile, sealing the marque’s fate. By 1924, Henry Crane left for General Motors, where he served as technical advisor to company president Alfred P. Sloan.

This Model 5 was delivered in October 1917 to William A. Prime Jr. of New York City, originally configured as a Brewster limousine. By 1919, it belonged to Joshua J. Dean of Andover, Massachusetts, and was fitted with this dual-cowl phaeton body by Farnham & Nelson, a prestigious Boston-area coachbuilder. This striking design was reportedly modeled after the innovative dual-cowl phaeton that J. Frank DeCausse created for Locomobile in 1916. With its low windshields, side-mounted spares, standing spotlamp, and integrated rear trunk, the phaeton has a sporting appearance that is quite modern for its era.

In 1944, the car was acquired by renowned Chicago collector D. Cameron Peck and later passed through several prominent hands, including Joseph P. McArdle, Harrison P. Bridge, Richard Roy, and Howard Fafard. It was eventually acquired by Otis Chandler, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, for his famed Vintage Museum. Mr. Chandler exhibited it at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, winning Third Place in the Prewar Preservation class. In 2006, the car was purchased by Stan Lucas at the Gooding & Company auction of Chandler’s collection. Presented with elegant dark green paint and beautifully patinated pigskin upholstery, the Crane-Simplex possesses the irreplaceable feel of a well-kept, largely unrestored survivor. One of the finest and best-preserved examples of the Model 5, this Crane-Simplex Dual-Cowl Phaeton reflects the peak of American motoring elegance and coachbuilt craftsmanship. With its exceptional provenance and aura of originality, it remains a standout example for discerning collectors.