The Kissel family, like so many German immigrants living in Wisconsin during the turn of the century, were initially farmers. From their successful farming endeavors, the family business expanded to include hardware and grocery stores, which were soon followed by lumber mills, quarries, real estate and home building. The Kissels’ financial successes in these growing businesses allowed the two younger Kissels, George and Will, to start an automobile company called the Kissel Motor Car Company of Hartford, Wisconsin, which produced and sold its first automobile in 1907. The car was named the Kissel Kar as a tribute to their German heritage. Sales of the new Kissel Kar were brisk, with the bulk of the earliest cars being sold and marketed in the Chicago area. The cars produced by Kissel quickly earned a well-deserved reputation for being well engineered and assembled with quality components throughout. For the 1911 model year, the Kissel Kar was offered in three models: two 4-cylinder versions, along with a 6-cylinder model. Of the available models, the D11 was the most popular Kissel Kar built that year. It was powered by a robust, 4-cylinder, 50 HP, L-head engine that was coupled to a 4-speed transmission with an overdrive and mounted on a 124-inch wheelbase chassis with a dropped frame that gave the car a low and sporty appearance. The D11 was offered in five body styles. With a base price of $2,300, it was about three times the cost of a new Model T Ford. This red 1911 Kissel Kar D11 is fitted with a sporty, four-passenger touring body—Kissel Body No. 796D—that was called the Baby Tonneau by Kissel. Unlike the larger touring car, the Baby Tonneau was a sports model with a lowered steering column, a scuttle cowl and a closed-coupled, four-passenger sport touring body. This rare example was first discovered in the 1960s by Edward “Bud” Catlett, who was not only a well-known car collector during the early years of collecting but also employed by the famed Harrah’s Automobile Collection in Reno, Nevada, where he was in charge of locating and purchasing vehicles for what would become the most significant collection of automobiles in the world. Catlett found the rare Kissel in a California desert and immediately began a full and thorough restoration. Once completed, the car became a regular participant in early Horseless Carriage Club of America tours, and the car was often pictured in the Horseless Carriage Gazette. The car was retained by the Catlett family until 1988, when it was sold to another well known, brass-era enthusiast—Jim Williams—who continuously maintained and actively toured the car for the next 30 years. Today, the car is a well presented, older restoration that still shows well inside and out. It is believed there are approximately 30 pre-1915, brass-era Kissel Kars remaining in existence today. Of those, it is believed that there are only two of the 1911 D11 Baby Tonneaus—this example and one other. This 1911 Kissel D11 represents a rare opportunity to acquire a large-horsepower, sporting tourer that will be a welcomed addition to any collection and a desirable participant in future brass-era driving events.