Apple 'Twiggy' Macintosh prototype goes under the hammer

A prototype of a vintage Apple Macintosh from 1983 is up for grabs at auction, with the "Twiggy" drive model expected to exceed $100,000 when it goes under the hammer.

Apple hardware is often a feature of tech-focused auctions, and sometimes you'll find prototypes that weren't sold to the public. One October auction offers the opportunity to pick up one such prototype, if you have deep enough pockets.

The auction at Bonhams in New York is listing an extremely rare Apple Macintosh prototype for sale. The #M0001 prototype, dating back to 1983, is the lesser-spotted "Twiggy" model, due to its use of 5.25-inch Twiggy disk drives, instead of the 400K 3.5-inch drives used for the Mac 128.

The rarity of the "Twiggy" Macintosh is apparently due to Steve Jobs ordering the destruction of the pre-production machines, due to issues surrounding the drive.

The unit being sold is accompanied by a prototype keyboard with a handwritten serial number, a prototype M01000 mouse with a prototype connector, and a dual-density "Twiggy" diskette labeled "Mac Word."

Aside from the hardware, the software that runs on the prototype is also interesting. Early versions of Mac apps that can run on the device feature notifications of Steve Jobs providing users instructions.

The prototype will be sold as part of Bonham's auction, running from October 13 to October 23. It has an estimated sale price of between $80,000 and $120,000.

While extremely rare, this is not the first time that the prototype model has appeared at auction. In 2019, one sold for $150,075, while another surfaced in 2012 on eBay asking for $99,995.

In both cases, the Macintosh was shown to be fully functional. While there is no mention on whether the lot is working, it could set new sales records if it does function.