(Un)forgotten movie cars: the Mercer Raceabout from "The Aristocats"
"How could anyone forget him?" – Butler Edgar gets to the heart of the matter when Adelaide Bonfamille reminds him of the imminent visit of her attorney Georges Hautecourt. Anyone who has ever seen the ageing lawyer – who, according to his own statement, i not as spry as he was when he was eighty – drive up in his yellow Mercer Racebout, cheerfully singing a very free vocalization of La donna è mobile, will remember it for a long time to come.
Strictly speaking, the yellow roadster, built in 1913, is even a little too young for the film, as it is set in 1910, and very few examples of the American super sports car are likely to have found their way to Paris. But Disney would not have seen this so strictly. More important was the recognition value that the Mercer had as one of the first supercars. This also earned it an early place in Matchbox's "Yesteryear" series.
However, the rattling and clattering of the vehicle in the cartoon is more intended to create a connection to its frail driver than to depict historical facts. In fact, the Mercer was a superbly built car that could easily maintain a speed of 70 miles per hour. With 59 hp from its 4.9-liter four-cylinder engine and a top speed of up to 90 miles per hour, it was one of the fastest of its time.
The only car with a real-life model can be seen for barely 30 seconds in "The Aristocats". Nevertheless, the scene is remembered by former moviegoers like no other. And every time I look at the yellow Matchbox Mercer in my display case at home, it starts singing in the back of my head: "Da da da da bumm-dee-haay!" – How could anyone forget him?
