A rare Apple Macintosh prototype from 1983, featuring the "Twiggy disk" drive, is expected to sell for over $100,000 at auction (via New Atlas).
The piece of Apple history is set to go under the hammer at Bonhams in New York. The Macintosh prototype, model #M0001, is one of the few surviving pre-production units from 1983.
This version of the Macintosh originally used a 5.25-inch floppy disk drive known internally as the "Twiggy" drive. It proved to be unreliable, leading Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to order the destruction of the remaining pre-production units before the final commercial release. The use of this drive sets it apart from the first commercially available Macs, which would ultimately ship in 1984 with the more compact 3.5-inch floppy disk system.
This particular prototype not only survived Jobs's directive but remains in very good condition. Included with the unit are several other prototype accessories, including a keyboard with a handwritten serial number, a prototype version of Apple's M01000 mouse featuring a unique connector, and a dual-density Twiggy diskette labeled "Mac Word." The prototype's software adds further intrigue to the lot; it runs early, unfinished versions of key Macintosh applications, and some of the notifications and instructions in the system are attributed to Steve Jobs himself.
The Bonhams auction is expected to reach a final selling price of $80,000 to $120,000. Given the rarity of Twiggy Mac prototypes and the historical interest surrounding Apple's early products, it is possible the final sale price could exceed expectations and become one of the most expensive Apple computers ever sold. A similar Twiggy model sold at auction in 2019 was fully functional and achieved a record price of $150,075. The auction is set to run from October 13 to October 23.
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I personally find this a lot more interesting than one of those unopened first gen iPhones, way rarer and cooler and you can at least use it! And yes, for some reason both can go for over $100,000 these days which is quite absurd either way.
LOVE seeing news and discussions on the Classic stuff! Makes me want to boot up my 512k and do some nostalgia gaming. And wow, I haven't seen TWIGGY mentioned in ages!
Neat to see how much this fetches, and if it goes someplace that can be enjoyed by more than just one rich family.
I makes sense Steve Jobs ditch the 5-1/4, because the 3-1/2 had double the storage capacity ( 720 KB ). Later the Double Density Drives doubled that to 1.44MB.
Hardly anyone owned a Hard Drive (10 MB Winchester); way too expensive for the regular user.
Yes, those were the days... but I don't want to go back!
The original disks were 1DD: single-sided, double-density 400K. The Mac Plus in 1986 introduced 2DD: double-sided, double-density 800K disks. The high-density HD format (1.44MB) came later on, in 1989.
