The oldest Ford car in the world, the “Model A”, comes up for auction next month at RM Auctions sale in Pennsylvania, USA on October 11 and is expected to sell for in excess of £300,000 with an estimate of between £186,000 and £310,000.

Back in July 1903 someone placed a deposit on this classic car and saved the company from going bankrupt. Since then it has only had five owners.

This “Model A” was the first design of Ford with the Chassis 30 being the third of over 1,700 units that were rolled off the production line between 1903 and 1904. As Ford’s two predecessors ended up on the scrap heap this car can now claim to be the oldest Ford that has survived.

The classic car remained within the same family for almost 50 years and has been well kept by each of its owners.

Ford has since sold over 350 million vehicles throughout the world and is the most popular manufacturer in the UK.

Back in July 1903 the recently formed Ford Motor Company was not in a good financial state with cash reserves of only $223.65. A deposit on this car plus two others helped the company survive to the end of the month.

The 2 cylinder 1668cc engine produced a mere 8bhp to help it power to a top speed of only 28mph. In 2007 it benefited from a full restoration.

A representative from RM Auctions said:’It is accompanied by extensive documentation, detailing its extraordinary history, and its condition is exemplary.

‘No automobile manufacturer has had anywhere close to the impact of the Ford Motor Company.

Without Herbert L. McNary’s $170 cheque, modern day motorists might be driving Popes or Flanders or Maxwells, and might speak of Hartford or Tarrytown in the same way they speak of Detroit.

‘Chassis number 30 is one of three Fords sold on the first day the Ford Motor Company recorded orders.

‘It is the only survivor of the three, has had only five owners in the nearly 110 years since it was built, has been carefully maintained and restored, and its history and provenance are impeccable.’