Stutz commissioned an American coachbuilder named Charles Weymann to build the car which, with its 116 inch wheelbase, was a good two feet shorter than the standard models. Only 24,000 miles. In 1911, Stutzs Ideal Motor Car Company managed to build a racecar in five weeks for the inaugural Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. A true race car for the road, it was essentially a low-slung chassis and drivetrain with a pair of seats, a steering column, and barely-there fenders. The first public mention of the car (then spelled "Bear Cat" ) is in an advertisement in the 1912 program for the Indianapolis 500 mile race. In the case of Stutz, the car featured safety glass, a low center of gravity for better handling, and a hill-holding transmission called "Noback". Got a tip? The main change was a new Stutz-designed 360-cubic-inch (5.90l) 16-valve four-cylinder engine. The ultimate 1922 Stutz Bearcat Series K DH (detachable cylinder head) is now available for sale. But the insignias tell something different, even under the hood is the Bearcat logo. Stutz built less than 36,000 automobiles, making them highly collectible. The Weymann body uses the aircraft-like technique of stretching fabric over a wooden frame. It developed 92hp at 3200rpm and drove through a three-speed manual transmission and ensured that the `Safety Stutz was one of the fastest luxury cars that money could buy. On August 16, 1977, a passerby nabbed a . The Bearcat name was reintroduced in 1931. The famous Bearcat first appeared in 1912. The brand was revived in 1968 under the aegis of the Stutz Motor Car of America and it unveiled a line of modern retro-look cars. Photos: 1914 Stutz 4E Bearcat Speedster. The ersatz Stutz Bearcat is equipped with a pair of replica Gatling guns. see other Bearcat Coupe Stutz Bearcat 1931. That slumped to 80 cars in 1933 and petered out the next season, after only six had been made. The 1915-1922 Stutz Bearcat is one of the most treasured classic cars of all time. Ross Chastain Will Not Ride the Wall Again . Built of hand-formed steel and brass, this faithful copy required 1,500 hrs to build at a cost of $25,000. In 1914 came the Bearcat Speedster that was little more than a bonneted rolling chassis, with two leather-trimmed bucket seats, a transverse cylindrical fuel tank, monocle windscreen, portable trunk and a spare wheel and tyre. Then the newly introduced Black Hawk Speedster won every race it entered to be crowned AAA Stock Car Champion. Original & Highly Original, All rights reserved, 2023 CLASSIC.COM Inc. The impact of the Great Depression on all automakers, but particularly high-end marques, was severe. To prove the worth of his integrated gearbox and final drive, he and Henry built the first Stutz in five weeks, in 1911 and entered it in the first Indianapolis 500. Stutz-fans know that the Bearcat is a Convertible, launched in 1979. More Photo @ Stutz Bearcat Series K D-H Photo Album. In 1912, Stutz won 25 out of 30 competitions entered thanks to the Bear Cat. The Bearcat featured a 389cuin (6.4L) Wisconsin brawny four-cylinder T-head engine with four valves per cylinder,[citation needed] one of the earliest multi-valve engines, matched with one of Harry Stutz's transaxles. They were powered by 6.4-litre, four- cylinder, side-valve, cross-flow, T-head, 60hp Wisconsin engines and the transmission and final drive assembly was Harry Stutzs three-speed. The conversion was done by Dan Steckler, working for Stutz in California. Episode - "The Trouble with Trillions" With a Le Mans second place in 1928 and a fifth place in 1929 Stutz set about creating a competition oriented sports car that might just get that elusive Le Mans win, and a car that would give owners a real no holds barred race car driving experience. 1927 Stutz Vertical Eight Price $101,300 1928 Stutz Price $185,000 1976 Stutz Price $62,893 More Stutz Classics M. Vertical Eight. The DV32 was launched in May 1931, with 155.8hp from 5.28 litres, where Cadillac managed only 185hp from 7.4 litres and Marmon needed 8.0 litres to achieve 200hp. 5 out of 5 stars (751) $ 10.00. Behind the Laughter . 2. Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. Safety measures included wire-reinforced `shatterproof glass and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. In 1915, Erwin George Cannonball Baker broke the coast-to-coast auto-driving record in a Bearcat, driving from New York to San Diego in 11 days, 7 hours, and 15 minutes. Coasting on the success of Americas first sports car, the Bearcat, Stutz kept cranking out cars but it was the beginning of the end for this groundbreaking automaker. The Bearcat is the most memorable model built by Stutz. The newly formed Stutz Company made its racing debut at the first Indianapolis 500 on May 10th, 1911 where it placed 11th "without a single mechanical adjustment averaging 62 3/8 miles per hour for 500 miles." Proud of this achievement their slogan "the car that made good for a day" lasted for several years. [4] References Using a Stutz model called the Blackhawk, driver Frank Lockhart reached a speed of 202 miles-per-hour at Daytona Beach, but a front tire blew on the return run. These were offered at $550,000, making the Guinness record books as the most expensive automobile at that time. Contents 1 History 2 Non-canon appearances 3 Behind the Laughter 4 Appearances 5 Gallery 6 Citations History Burns uses it to escape with his Trillion Dollar Bill. Into that ultra light body went the wonderful Double Valve DV32 straight 8 DOHC engine. Chassis features include 3 speed transaxle, 130 . This car is all original and in very good condition. To find new investment capital for expansion Stutz Motor Car Company (of Indiana) was sold in 1916 to Stutz Motor Car Company of America under an agreement with a consortium to list the specially organized holding company's stock on the New York Stock Exchange. Baime: In 1971, a television series began called "Bearcats . Close up classic car's stylish headlamps and grill. The Bearcat was a creation inspired by an Indy sports car racer built by the Stutz Motor Company in 1911. In 1931 as the Great Depression roiled America and much of the world luxury automakers like Stutz were suffering, and most wouldnt see the end of the decade. The original GM 350-cubic-inch V-8 is under the hood. According to factory literature from 1913 the Bearcat "was designed to meet the needs of the customer desiring a car built along the lines of a racing car with a slightly higher gear ratio than our normal torpedo roadster, has met with great favor with motor car owners and meets the demand for a car of this class. The example you see here is one of the rarerWeymann-bodied examples. 1918 Stutz Series S Close-Coupled Touring. It has bright red paint on that Diamond Fiber Composite body, offset by a white Italian leather interior. and showed a Triumph driver, complete with raccoon coat, next to an early 1920s Bearcat, in a campus setting. Essentially, the Bearcat was a shorter (120-inch [3,048mm] wheelbase vs 130-inch [3,302mm]), lighter version of the standard Stutz passenger car's chassis. The Stutz Motor Car Company was delisted. In 1915 a stock Bearcat was driven by Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker from California to New York in eleven days, seven hours, and fifteen minutes, shattering the previous record and inspiring the later Cannonball Run race and film spin-offs. However, Harry Stutz was an engineer foremost and a reluctant company director, so he left Stutz on July 1, 1919 and together with Henry Campbell established the H C S Motor Car Company and Stutz Fire Apparatus Company. The late Brass Era Stutz expert Paul Freehill, of Stutz Specialties in Fort Wayne, Indiana, inspected the car and identified the gas tank as an original, correct 1915 Bearcat unit, in addition to verifying that the frame had the correct 118-inch span, both as noted in . Cussler passed away last February, and his daughter Teri now runs the museum, which displays about 70 vehicles including a 1906 Stanley Steamer, 1921 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost and 1925 Isotta Fraschini, and many more. The White Squadron Stutz cars were different from production cars in being powered by five-litre engines that complied with the new 300 cubic-inch maximum capacity racing rule. The Bearcat II was a neo-classic hand-built in Turin, Italy not for the race track but for cruising Hollywood Boulevard. $19.99. Expand your options of fun home activities with the largest online selection at eBay.com. Stutz Bearcat 1931. The engine was based on the original Stutz Vertical Eight from 1926 and was a 322-cubic inch powerplant that included dual overhead camshafts and angled valves above the hemispherical combustion chambers. The first public mention of the car (then spelled "Bear Cat" ) is in an advertisement in the 1912 program for the Indianapolis 500 mile race. Stutz Factory. Contribute information, offer corrections, suggest images. Brochures boasted the cars were capable of top speeds of more than 100mph (160km/h). Powered by Gasoline and Caffeine. You may have seen them at county fairs the vertical velodromes were originally built from old grain silos, leading to the name "silo-drome.". Engines were V8s, originally 400 or 460 cubic inches (6.6 or 7.5L), but by 1984 the Victoria, Blackhawk, and Bearcat came with a 160hp (119kW; 162PS), 350.0-cubic-inch (5.7L) engine while the Royale had a 424.8-cubic-inch (7.0L) Oldsmobile engine rated at 180hp (134kW; 182PS). Some found a home in the Middle East. If youd like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here. The highest bid came from Branko Kavcic, the owner of the famous Stutz Blackhawk Prototype. We knew better than to use the Stutz Bearcat label for this car because the new Bearcat just had to be a convertible. Designer Virgil Exner revived the Stutz name in August 1968, in conjunction with New York banker, James O'Donnell. When production ended in 1935, some 35,000 cars had been manufactured. He sold the car later to William Ruger, Sr., the co-founder of firearms manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co., better known simply as Ruger. The restored car can now be seen at Graceland. Stutz's fabulous 360 cubic inch, 16-valve four-cylinder produces 83 horsepower and is undoubtedly the centerpiece of this wonderful automobile. The doorless body style lasted through 1916. Eugene Van Rensselaer Thayer Jr. (18811937), Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, List of automobiles manufactured in the United States, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stutz_Motor_Company&oldid=1126752088, Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States, Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Indiana, Manufacturing companies based in Indianapolis, Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1911, Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1935, Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1971, Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1992, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2015, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2016, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 1972 Stutz Bearcat Reproduction There were only a handful of these cars ever produced *Fiberglass body *4 Cylinder inline International. Stutz authorities have determined that this car is an original and authentic Bear Cat that was most likely privately raced. From Jim Gibson & Allan Whiting directly to your inbox. In 1976, a convertible called D'Italia based on a standard Blackhawk was presented at the Beverly Hills Hotel. At the time, the U.S. government has outlawed the sale of convertibles in the United States. Production began in 1911 and ended in 1935. The base platform was the GM F platform for 1987, with the trailing edge of the spare forming part of the car's rear bumper. Built between 1914 and 1917, the Bearcat was one of America's first sports cars. Car customizer George Barris made two much more accurate replicas for the 1971 television series Bearcats!. At only 116 inches, the wheelbase was a full foot and a half shorter than the standard offering. It was the last vehicle he drove, the night before he died. A total of 15 new Stutz models were introduced at the 1932 New York Motor Show by Charles Schwab including the Pak-Age-Car. Evel Knievel and Wayne Newton owned the car respectively. The new Bearcat used the GM A platform shared with the Blackhawk, and was essentially a Targa top coupe. Unopened bottle in original box. And they were very expensive.. Advantage. 1920s, ALAN CONANT (1994), ELIZABETH J. Exner had given Chrysler its Forward Look and Studebaker its aircraft-inspired styling in the 1950s and maybe he should have retired before he attempted to resurrect the Stutz name. Contribute to this page by emailing us your suggestions. In 1916, the financier Alan A. Ryan took control of the company after it had gone public. Later in the cars life it was owned by Dr. Frederick Simeone, a major figure in American car collecting. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Reported to have cost $107,000 in 1979! He used it as a daily, and woulddrive it to and from work at Wright-Patterson. Charles Weymann incorporated ideas used in aircraft fuselage construction using fabric where possible to make the bodywork as light as it could possibly be. In 1987, a completely new Bearcat convertible, called the Bearcat II, was introduced. in. The Stutz straight-eight, 4.7-litre engine had a nine-bearing crankshaft, single, chain-driven, overhead-camshaft and dual-ignition. In 1912, Stutz Bearcats won 25 of the 30 auto races in which they were entered. Essentially a racer for the road, the original Bearcat had minimal bodywork and a mighty 390-cubic-inch four that produced 60 horsepowera lot of power for the day. Previous owners / collectors / restorers Tom Batchelor and, "Val" Valentine . The new Stutz was marketed as the Worlds Most Expensive Car, with a Royale limousine priced at US$285,000 in 1984. The companys successes led to the building of a factory complex (1914-1920) at 1008 North Capitol Avenue. John Boyle, 59, a retired Air Force officer from Colbert, Wash., on his George Barris-built Stutz Bearcat, as told to A.J. Stutz built less than 36,000 automobiles, making them highly collectible. As one of the earliest true sports cars, the 1912-1916 Stutz Bearcat models have the highest value. Stutz' "White Squadron" race team won the 1913 and 1915 national championships before withdrawing from racing in October 1915. Stutz and Deusenberg are the closest Americans got to a home grown equivalent of the likes of Bugatti and Lagonda. With its lower weight and itsDV-32 engine producing 156 bhp and 300 ft lbs of torque, the Super Bearcat was able to reach speeds in excess of 100 mph an astonishing rate of speed for the era. In this image you can see the texture of the fabric used for the body. A two door hardtop, the model was called the Stutz Blackhawk. . Stutz is a name that is synonymous with Bentley and Bugatti; they raced against each other. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Evel Knievel, Barry White, and Sammy Davis Jr. all owned Stutz cars. Sitting on a 116-inch (2,900mm) wheelbase, it featured a lightweight fabric body built by Weymann. This Stutz Bearcat II has only 1,369 miles on it, and has never been titled. The 1920 Series K was again similar, but prices rose to $3,900 (equivalent to $52,754 in 2021[1]) in the wake of a postwar auto sales boom. The demand for Stutz motor cars prompted the construction of a new manufacturing facility at 1002 North Capitol Avenue in Indianapolis. This new Stutz had a low centre of gravity, thanks to its use of a `double dropped chassis frame and Timken worm-drive back axle. Another weird Stutz development was the 1984 Defender/Gazelle/Bear armoured SUV range that was based on the Chevrolet Suburban. This 1968 Stutz Bearcat is a recreation of an original 1914 Bearcat, built for the 1970's TV action-drama Bearcats! (Some would say, unfortunately.). Stop Driving Your Old Challengers, Chargers, 300s. The same year, the model range was enhanced by the DV-32 powered "Super Bearcat", which offered full weather protection and higher performance. Moskovics counted Louis Delage, Gabriel Voisin, Charles Weymann and Ettore Bugatti among his friends. Stutz would encounter financial problems, eventually shutting down production in 1935 and declaring bankruptcy in 1937. The Series E of 1913 brought electric lights and starter. 1912 Stutz racer- Gil Anderson Illinois Chicago Historical Society. Sold. Exterior color: White. Elviss car was sent to customizer George Barris for further personalization, and then Elvis added it to his fleet. Abarth. Extremely rare. In 1911, the company produces car Indianapolis 500 with the slogan "the car that makes the day better."The following year , Harry changed the company name to Harry Stutz and starts production roadsters like the famous Stutz Bearcat.Stutz- E series there in 1914 It produces 156 bhp and 300 lb ft of torque. Free with trial. Owning a Stutz Bearcat became a status symbol for the wealthy of the era. Ryan Sr., was bankrupt in August 1922 as well as disinherited by his father, Thomas Fortune Ryan. Stutz was known as a producer of fast cars including America's first sports car and, from 1924, luxury cars for the rich and famous. Acura. All Makes. Stutz production ended in 1934.[2]. On May 30, 1911, a Stutz Bearcatentered by the ingenious Harry C. Stutzfinished in 11th place in the inaugural running of the Indianapolis 500. It was developed as, The traditional Silodrome was a carnival sideshow attraction also called the Wall of Death." Check out our previous posts in the series about a restored 1921 Duesenberg Model A, a drag-racing 1937 Willys, and James Hetfield's Art Deco hot rod. The Stutz Bearcat was an American sports car of the pre- and post- World War I period. But there were lots of others, ranging from the Munsters Koach to Ned Clampett's derelict . A product of the Indianapolis Bicentennial effort (202021), the digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis integrates and accesses the explosion and fragmentation of knowledge created both as born-digital information and as a large new digital archive. Common with racing and sports cars of the period, it featured minimal bodywork consisting of a "dog house" hood, open bucket seats, a tiny "monocle" windscreen in front of the driver, and a cylindrical fuel tank on a short rear deck. DV-32 stood for Dual-Valve 32; it has four valves for each cylinder for a total of 32. (1) Non-U.S. based parent company that owns subsidiaries headquartered in U.S. (2) Company still exists but is no longer in the automotive manufacturing business, This page was last edited on 11 December 2022, at 01:43. Wisconsin T-head four-cylinder engine, producing "over 60" brake horsepower but rated at 36.1 hp. This car is an extraordinary piece of American automotive history and is in such good condition that it still has the original fabric skin it was first fitted with back in 1932. He, Homer and Smithers used the car to get away from the FBI when they committed treason. Essentially, the Bearcats were a shorter (120" wheelbase vs 130"), lighter version of the standard Stutz passenger cars chassis. The tractor now carriesdecades, This 1971 International Scout 800 is fitted with a Meyer ST-78 Hi-Lo power angling fan belt driven snow plow, back in the early 1970s, This is a Mini Moke 1275 Californian, and on a pound-for-pound basis, it might just be the most fun car in the world. Sadly due to the economic crisis very few were sold, its thought just 20 or so in total. But parts for the neo-Stutz do turn up. This was during the so-called "cylinders race" of the early 1930s when makers of some expensive cars were rushing to produce multi-cylinder engines. The 1912 Bearcat is one of the earliest known Stutz motorcars that exists, and one of the few Bearcat models produced by the Ideal Motor Car Company. Will take Excalibur as partial trade. However, Stutz could not beat the Great Depression and, as sales plummeted, Moskovics made way for a new president, Colonel Edgar S Gorrell. Privacy Policy |Terms of Use. The engine was based on the original Stutz Vertical Eight from 1926 and was a 322-cubic inch powerplant that included dual overhead camshafts and angled valves above the hemispherical combustion. This is the DV-32 engine, its a remarkably futuristic design with a crossflow head featuring double overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. In comparison, today's Ferrari FF rides on a 117.7 inch . Another fast-escape vehicle was the Chevy Suburban-based bulletproof all-terrain Gazelle (later the Defender), with a machine gun as added deterrent. The company, however, failed and closed in 1937. Warren Liu became its main shareholder and took over ownership of Stutz Motor Cars in 1982. All these cars used General Motors running gear, featuring perimeter-type chassis frames, automatic transmission, power steering and power brakes with discs at the front. If your only knowledge of adventure novelist Clive Cussler is that you saw the 2005 screenplay adaptation of Sahara in 2005, you started off on the wrong foot. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges. Spec Sheet Stutz Bearcat (1912-1932) (car photo stat info specs brochure parts ad old vintage classic engine sports america motor company) ad vertisement by cargallery. The Stutz racing team attempted to set a new land speed record in 1928. Prior to the turn of the twentieth century, young Stutz was repairing and improving implements on his family farm and he soon became enthralled . The owner says it all with this call to action: Own a piece of history!. According to my Motor Manual, the engine originally had a compression ratio of 5.7:1 and made 93 HP @ 3400 RPM with a single barrel Stromberg . Matchbox 1931 Stutz Bearcat 1974 Model of the Yesteryear Vintage Toy Car Lesney. Add to Favorites . In the 5 years following 1912, production went from 266 to 2,207 cars. customizer John D'Agostino). The new Bearcat was fitted with the companys sophisticated DV-32 Dual Valve 32 inline-eight cylinder cross-flow engine with double overhead cams and four valves per cylinder an unusual specification for a road going engine at the time, most engines were still using pushrods and two valves per cylinder for decades to come. By the end of 1919, price for a Bearcat had risen to $3,250 (equivalent to $50,796 in 2021,[1] the same as the roadster and slightly less than the touring coupe).