I'm not the purveyor of Eye Candy but I had to post this slick looking '34.
First seen at the Grand National Roadster Show '06. There's a small write-up that accompanied the photo.
During the early '30s, in the heady atmosphere of a world emerging from the privations of the Great Depression, the ambassador of Uruguay, then the financial center of South America, conceived an automobile project for the world market. His intention was to build a unique luxury car for the affluent few that included kings, princes, maharajahs, and the like. The ambitious ambassador hit upon the idea of wedding the American Studebaker company with one of the most prestigious companies to ever build a car-the French Bugatti Automobile firm. A distant and relatively safe location was sought. The South American country of Uruguay offered unexploited labor markets, proximity to abundant natural resources, and a highly prized degree of privacy.
The delightful issue of this marriage of the creme de la creme of the industrial world was the Stugatti, an elegant and very rare car. No one knows how many of these finely crafted tourings were actually produced, but apparently only one has survived. The extant Stugatti has been traced in this country from Oklahoma to Michigan to a lengthy hibernation under a tarp in far Temecula, California. It is suspected, although not proven, that this car is actually the one owned by the ambassador himself.
If you buy that story, there are a number of perfectly good bridges for sale that you will probably be interested in. The truth is that there never was a Stugatti at all and if there was an international ambassador in Uruguay in the '30s, he probably didn't know a cow from a car.
The Stugatti that debuted at the 2006 Grand National Roadster Show is entirely the product of the combined, very fertile, imaginations of owners Rick and Valerie Strain and the talented and diligent team headed up by John Nissen at Nissen's Hot Rod Garage in not-so-exotic Williams, California. The elegant dual-cowl convertible sedan gives the appearance of a restored vintage vehicle. It is not that in any way. This big beauty is pure hot rod.
The original car was a 1934 Studebaker four-door sedan. The top was removed completely, the chassis has been completely redone with independent suspension and the motive force is a Ford Triton V-10. Yes, it is very fast. The car was constructed almost in its entirety by John Nissen and his main man, Tom Stephens. The inspiration for the car came from owner Rick's wife, Valerie, who has always been intrigued by the elegant Bugattis that populate Concours d'Elegance shows and the most prestigious automotive museums. The Strains had already completed a vintage-style hot rod project, a Viper powered '40 Packard that had belonged to Rick's great grandmother, with the Nissen gang and were ready to try another. Thus, the Stugatti was conceived and in a relatively short two years, the project was complete. Really, two guys built this car from virtually scratch in two years! That is some kind of a record in somebody's book somewhere!
Personal Website - 1950 Studebaker Retro-Rod Project
First seen at the Grand National Roadster Show '06. There's a small write-up that accompanied the photo.
During the early '30s, in the heady atmosphere of a world emerging from the privations of the Great Depression, the ambassador of Uruguay, then the financial center of South America, conceived an automobile project for the world market. His intention was to build a unique luxury car for the affluent few that included kings, princes, maharajahs, and the like. The ambitious ambassador hit upon the idea of wedding the American Studebaker company with one of the most prestigious companies to ever build a car-the French Bugatti Automobile firm. A distant and relatively safe location was sought. The South American country of Uruguay offered unexploited labor markets, proximity to abundant natural resources, and a highly prized degree of privacy.
The delightful issue of this marriage of the creme de la creme of the industrial world was the Stugatti, an elegant and very rare car. No one knows how many of these finely crafted tourings were actually produced, but apparently only one has survived. The extant Stugatti has been traced in this country from Oklahoma to Michigan to a lengthy hibernation under a tarp in far Temecula, California. It is suspected, although not proven, that this car is actually the one owned by the ambassador himself.
If you buy that story, there are a number of perfectly good bridges for sale that you will probably be interested in. The truth is that there never was a Stugatti at all and if there was an international ambassador in Uruguay in the '30s, he probably didn't know a cow from a car.
The Stugatti that debuted at the 2006 Grand National Roadster Show is entirely the product of the combined, very fertile, imaginations of owners Rick and Valerie Strain and the talented and diligent team headed up by John Nissen at Nissen's Hot Rod Garage in not-so-exotic Williams, California. The elegant dual-cowl convertible sedan gives the appearance of a restored vintage vehicle. It is not that in any way. This big beauty is pure hot rod.
The original car was a 1934 Studebaker four-door sedan. The top was removed completely, the chassis has been completely redone with independent suspension and the motive force is a Ford Triton V-10. Yes, it is very fast. The car was constructed almost in its entirety by John Nissen and his main man, Tom Stephens. The inspiration for the car came from owner Rick's wife, Valerie, who has always been intrigued by the elegant Bugattis that populate Concours d'Elegance shows and the most prestigious automotive museums. The Strains had already completed a vintage-style hot rod project, a Viper powered '40 Packard that had belonged to Rick's great grandmother, with the Nissen gang and were ready to try another. Thus, the Stugatti was conceived and in a relatively short two years, the project was complete. Really, two guys built this car from virtually scratch in two years! That is some kind of a record in somebody's book somewhere!
Personal Website - 1950 Studebaker Retro-Rod Project
101st Airborne Div. 326 Engineers Ft Campbell Ky.
"In the heart of Arkansas."
I got to drive a dual cowl Hispano-Suiza years ago. 20s vintage as I recall. It had wicker from the cowl section to the rear. Musta been HE-double hockey sticks to keep clean. Of course, if you could afford such a car, you certainly didn't clean it yourself!
Comment