Collectors and technology enthusiasts often gravitate towards items steeped in history, especially those that played a pivotal role in a company’s development. A prime example is a rare Apple Macintosh prototype featuring the historic “Twiggy disk” drive. This iconic piece is about to go under the hammer and could potentially set new records due to the intense interest from collectors worldwide.
Set for auction at Bonhams in New York on October 23, 2024, this rare Macintosh prototype, model # M0001 from 1983, represents a compelling piece of Apple’s storied past. It’s one of the few pre-production units that housed the distinctive 5.25-inch “Twiggy” floppy disk drive, a component that never made it to the commercial market due to its reliability issues.
In a famous move, Apple’s visionary co-founder, Steve Jobs, ordered the destruction of these pre-production units before the 1984 commercial launch. The retail version instead featured a more dependable and compact 3.5-inch floppy disk drive. However, some of these prototypes managed to survive, and this particular model has remained in excellent condition, marking its significance in Apple’s developmental era.
This extraordinary prototype comes with unique accessories that add to its allure, including a keyboard with a handwritten serial number, a prototype Apple M01000 mouse with a unique connector, and a dual-density Twiggy diskette branded as Mac Word.
Further enhancing its historical value is the early software version it sports, offering an unfinished glimpse into Apple’s early operating system. Intriguingly, this system development even involved Steve Jobs, adding another layer of interest to this piece.
The expected bid for this auction ranges between $80,000 and $120,000 due to the prototype’s rarity and historical significance. Experts predict it could surpass all expectations and break existing auction records for Apple computers, based on a similar 2019 auction where a comparable Twiggy model fetched a record-setting $150,075.
Scheduled from October 13th to October 23rd, this auction promises to be a significant event, and there is optimistic anticipation that this one-of-a-kind Macintosh prototype will shatter previous price records.
