Car Spot: Tucker 48

A time capsule of automotive design and engineering …

Since Mark and I started this car blog a couple of years ago we’ve had the opportunity to drive and experience some really amazing automobiles. This one caught us totally by surprise. Each year the Chicago Auto Show hosts media members from Wednesday through Friday before the show opens to the public. Friday is traditionally the shortest day. Just a couple of reveals by the manufacturers and then we go off and explore before heading back to Milwaukee. Each year there’s usually a display of vintage and show cars. This year we hit the jackpot by getting a personal tour of Tucker 48 number eight off the assembly line in Chicago in the vehicle’s only production year 1941.

I love the story of Preston Tucker, creator of this short-lived automobile. Much has been written about this automotive pioneer. Even a movie that I must have watched about a dozen times. Long story short, he came up with an automobile that was light years ahead of what Detroit had come out with just after World War II. It seemed he was always up against some hurtle and not only jumped over it along with the rest. He was almost there and the automotive landscape would have forever been changed.

The 51 completed cars are spread all over the world owned by collectors or on display in museums while a few have been destroyed. Number 48 I found is owned by some lucky person who lives right up the road from me in Hartford, WI. This one on display is Tucker #1008 and was originally Beige/400 but is now Maroon/600. It is currently located in the Richard Driehaus Collection at Chicago Vintage Motor Carriage. I was reminded by the museum rep as I was given the chance to take these pictures up close that this car is worth two million dollars and the most expensive car at this year’s auto show beating a Porsche Carrera GT 2 Dr STD Convertible by about 400 grand.

This Tucker 48 leads a pampered life trailered to events and just taken off, rolled into its display area, and then rolled back on the trailer to return to the museum. It’s only occasionally driven but on closed courses like parades and then, you guessed it, rolled back on the trailer and taken back to the museum. This car looks as if it had just rolled off the assembly line with no scratches, dents, or rips on the upholstery reminding me what could have been.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my rarest, and most valuable, car spot to date. Come back next week for another one of my spots I found out and about along with some of its history. Have a great weekend.