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The 1957 Gaylord Gladiator is one of the rarest and most unique of the 1950’s cars

The 1957 Gaylord Gladiator is one of the rarest and most unique of the 1950’s cars.

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Developed by the super-rich Gaylord Brothers of Chicago to compete with the world’s best vehicles, including Rolls-Royce.

The Zeppelin Group once manufactured a car that looked like it was made for a Hollywood movie. It appears similar to Batman’s Batmobile or a tuxedo out of the 1920s. It has 305 horsepower and measures more than 4 meters in length. The Zeppelin Group made history with that one of a kind automobile.

How it began: Two wealthy brothers and a dream

Jim and Ed Gaylord were two American brothers that had a soft spot for cars and everything that was fast and expensive. Their father made the family rich by inventing the famous “Bobby Pin”, a hair needle that would rescue many woman around the world from bad hair days ever since. In the early 1950s the brothers were looking for a new toy: a truly exceptional sports car built for them. That would – if built successful – become the dream car of many Americans. The design of the car hailed from the famous Brooks Stevens, an American design legend and true expert on his field. The realization of the car was meant to come from Germany – because the brothers already knew the quality label of “made in Germany” back then.

Quality made in Germany

After failing with the first bodywork the brothers decided to give the task to the so-called “FIF”, a vehicle repair facility at Friedrichshafen. Building the car took more than a year, lots of sleepless nights, many transatlantic calls and frequent travels of the brothers between America and Friedrichshafen. But they never gave up, believed in their dream end kept on working on the spectacular car. And in the end the FIF delivered. In 1957 the car was finally ready. And in 1960, the FIF would go on to become part of the Zeppelin Group.

Ahead of its time: technical sophistication meets German workmanship

Looking at the features of the car, one could tell that the Gaylord brothers did not only have a fine taste. They also had a sense of what modern cars of today would be equipped with. The car had convenient features such as electrically adjustable seats, electric windows, power steering, brake servos and air conditioning. The Gaylord Gladiator also came with a convertible roof that could be folded down completely into the trunk at the touch of a button. It had spare wheel that could be conveniently slided out by just tipping a finger and an interior space equipped with fine dark wood. The signature element, a sword, was not only integrated into armatures like the clock or the speedometer. Also the key of the Gaylord Gladiator was a sword, again proving the exquisite and luxurious approach of the car.

The price was high – and the Gaylord way too expensive

Despite the sophisticated overall concept the plan to produce a small batch of 25 vehicles for sale at a price of USD 10,000 each never saw the light of day. The car was simply too expensive in production. Only one of the 25 cars was ever built, marking the Gaylord Gladiator a true one of its kind on this earth.

After finishing the car, it soon became apparent that the calculated sales price was unrealistic. To remain economically viable, the price was first raised to USD 15,000 before being revised upward again to USD 17,500. Assuming an exchange rate of DM 4.20 to the dollar in 1957, the Gaylord Gladiator cost more than DM 73,500 in 1957. By way of comparison, a Mercedes 300 SL cost around 32,000 Deutschmarks back then! The unique Gaylord Gladiator therefore was never replicated, it stayed the only automobile of its type in the world. And an unique specimen in the classic car industry. Looking at the exquisite and extraordinary craft, the car is also a true gem of Friedrichshafen’s industrial heritage.

How the story of the Gaylord continued

In total, only three chassis of the Gaylord Gladiator were produced in all, with the bodywork only being completed on one of them. So besides the finished Gaylord Gladiator, there existed two more chassis. One of them got completely lost and was never found again, the other one was in the possession of the Gaylord family (together with lots of spare parts). As time went by, the Gaylord Gladiator and the single remaining chassis were part of the Gaylord family and therefore preserved very well. In the mid-90’s, the Gaylords decided to put the Gaylord Gladiator in restoration so that the car would be preserved for many more years to come. After the death of Jim Gaylord, his wife and widow became owner of the Gaylord Gladiator and the single remaining chassis in 1999. She then sold both items (including the spare parts, design drawings and other historical documents) to an elderly automobile collector from Arizona in 2015. The collector had a heart for the car and began researching its origins. He then stumbled upon the engraving “Zeppelin” in the engine compartment of the car and contacted the Zeppelin Museum in early 2017.

How the Gaylord found its way back to Zeppelin

From then on, pure chance led to the Zeppelin Group reclaiming this unique specimen. In early 2017, the Zeppelin Group received an invitation via the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen to buy the classic car – a stroke of luck for the Group, as the vehicle had lain under the radar for many years and was believed to be lost. The Zeppelin Group decided to buy the car, the remaining chassis and all belonging documents, to honor and preserve the Groups history. It is now permanently on display in the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen as a loan from the Zeppelin Group. Together with the chassis, the Gaylord Gladiator is a major attraction for the city of Friedrichshafen and at the same time historical evidence of the city’s great innovative strength.

 

Pictured:The Gaylord brothers with their Gaylord Gladiator.
Archive of the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH
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A Legendary Tale: ‘Quick Vic’s’ 1968 Porsche 907 K

1929 Duesenberg Northport Roadster Skiff-Bodied

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A Legendary Tale: ‘Quick Vic’s’ 1968 Porsche 907 K

Without question, seeing this particular #Porsche at The Amelia Auction in early March will be a personal highlight. I first had the chance to meet the late, great Vic Elford during my management years at Brumos Porsche. Vic is a legend of Porsche, and I know that simply standing in the presence of “his” 907 K will bring back a flood of memories and tales of epic driving feats.

It was an honor to know you, Vic.

Posted @withregram to IG • @broadarrow_auctions

A Legendary Tale: ‘Quick Vic’s’ 1968 Porsche 907 K

We’re beyond thrilled to announce the addition of the 1968 Targa Florio-winning Porsche 907 K to our inaugural Amelia Auction!

Chassis no. 907 025’s victory at the 1968 Targa Florio is a legendary tale in a season that saw ‘Quick Vic’ Elford at the top of his game. Porsche System Engineering paired the car with Elford and Umberto Maglioli for the race. After several initial setbacks and incredible assistance from race-mad locals, Umberto would return the car to fourth position before Elford would set three successive lap records.

With a half-lap to go, 907 025 passed Alfa’s leading Tipo 33/2 and extended that lead to over three minutes at the finish, lopping nearly 10 minutes off the previous overall best race time. No season in Elford’s career matched his 1968 performance and no race in 1968 equaled his win at the Targa Florio in 907 025.

During time spent in the world-class Porsche collection of Dr. Julio Palmaz, the 907 K was restored to its original Targo Florio configuration, complete with rebuilt original engine, and today remains in very similar condition to when it left the Porsche Prototype Racing Cars workshop over 20 years ago.

#heroes #legends #porschepassion #classiccars

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1929 Duesenberg Northport Roadster Skiff-Bodied

1929 Duesenberg Northport Roadster Skiff-Bodied

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The first skiff bodied project originated in the 60’s.

Judge North had assembled a large number of Duesenberg parts and was intersted in building a complete car from this collection. The effort took on new vigor with a retired Duesenberg designer, J. Herbert Newport, moved to Wittman, just a few miles from St Michaels. Newport had designed several special cars for Duesenberg, including SSJ models for Gary Cooper and Clark Gable, as well as the Mormon Meteor record holding car. He collaborated with North on the original design of this roadster, now known as the “Northport”

The Northport is a small Duesenberg, using a short 115″ wheelbase relative to other Duesys that were built on a 125″, 142″ or 153″ chassis. To get the proportions right, North and Newport lowered the hoodline by about 4.5 inches relative to the standard Duesy. The engine, which the Norths found in a Californian Desota hot rod, was rebuilt but retains the racing cams to this day. The standard 17″ or 19″ Duesy wheels were over large and so custom 16″ wheels were made to maintain proportions.

The construction story continues. In the 60’s, wood glues were inferior to today’s products, so the task of fastening the curved mahogany for the body was quite a challenge. The car, mechanically complete by the late 60’s became a weekend project which stretched into the 70’s then 80’s with several different people working on the body. A local paint and metalwork master, Virgil Maxwell, had shaped the 4 fenders in the 60s, the ash frame for the body was in place, and the mechanicals were ready, but the car remained without a finished wooden body.

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1938 Rolls Royce Wraith Boattail Tourer

1938 Rolls Royce Wraith Boattail Tourer

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The Wraith was an entirely new model, which brought the design of the ‘baby’ Rolls-Royce models into line with the sophistication of its larger counterpart, the Phantom III.

The Wraith had a brand new welded chassis, a new light-alloy six-cylinder engine of 4,257 cc and far greater performance than what had gone before. The motor car had been described as a scaled-down Phantom III and is regarded by many as the most enjoyable Rolls-Royce of all.

Certainly it is an extremely refined car and contemporary press report spoke glowingly of its extreme silence. ‘The Autocar’ described it in these terms: ‘it seems of little consequence what the precise maximum speed figure is when such astonishingly easy and completely effortless running is available at, say, 75 mph. Speedometer readings between 80 and 84 were reached on two or three occasions, and considerably more was shown once on a definitely favorable stretch of road.’

Rolls-Royce were able to produce the Wraith for a chassis price of just 1,100 pounds the same as that of the Twenty sixteen years before. Some beautifully proportioned bodies were produced for this model, including a Park Ward touring body for a cost of 1,695 European pounds. Unfortunately the outbreak of The Second World War meant that the car production at Rolls-Royce shut down as it switched to the manufacture of the Merlin aero engine. Today, one Wraith sits in The Royal Mews, proudly owned by Her Majesty The Queen.

The history of Rolls-Royce in America dates back to 1906 when C.S. Rolls brought three cars to race at New York’s Empire City track. Later, their vehicles were on display at the annual show where three were sold to customers.

By the early 1910s, Rolls-Royce had established a relationship with Brewster & Company to body the majority of chassis imported to the US. In 1919, Rolls purchased a factory in Springfield, Massachusetts with the purpose of producing the entire product in the US. One of the benefits was they were able to bypass import and export fees. The factory produced the Silver Ghost model with Brewster and a number of other prominent coachbuilders of the time, tasked with creating many of the bodies. In 1927, the Ghost was succeeded by the Phantom I.

During the Great Depression, sales slowed and soon England was supplying the US with left-hand drive Phantom II chassis, again, with Brewster handling much of the coachwork. Between 1931 and 1934, a mere 116 examples of the Phantom II were sold to the United States. With sales so low and the Great Depression in full swing, the Springfield location was shut down. John S. Inskip, who was the Rolls-Royce American president, continued to operate the Brewster coachworks.

In 1938, the successor to the 25/30 ‘small Rolls’ was introduced, the Rolls-Royce Wraith. It had an independent front suspension based on a General Motors design and powered by the 4257cc overhead valve six-cylinder engine of the 25/30. It was updated with a new crossflow head.
Rolls had stopped producing left-hand drive chassis, but a few right-hand examples were imported to the US by Inskip who bodied them in his shops.
A total of 491 Wraith’s were produced by Rolls Royce before war in Europe shut down automobile production. Only a small portion of those made it to the United States.

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The 250 Testa Rossa is among the most revered classics in Ferrari’s history.

The 250 Testa Rossa is among the most revered classics in Ferrari’s history.

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It had a hugely successful racing career, was powered by the famed Colombo V12, and looks beautiful to boot.

Unfortunately, it can be rather difficult to obtain considering they cost anywhere from $16 million to $40 million.

The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, or 250 TR, was a racing sports car built by Ferrari from 1957 to 1961. It was introduced at the end of the 1957 racing season in response to rule changes that enforced a maximum engine displacement of 3 litres for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and World Sports Car Championship races. The 250 TR was closely related to earlier Ferrari sports cars, sharing many key components with other 250 models and the 500 TR.

The 250 TR achieved many racing successes winning 10 World Sports Car Championship races including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Targa Florio. Ferrari won the World Sports Car Championship constructor’s titles in 1958, 1960 and 1961 with the 250 TR.

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1933 Lancia Astura Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton coachwork by Carrozzeria Castagna

1933 Lancia Astura Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton coachwork by Carrozzeria Castagna

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The Lancia Astura was one of the most luxurious cars built in Italy during the 1930s.

This Third Series Astura has coachwork by Carrozzeria Castagna of Milan. One of the oldest established Italian coachbuilders, the Casatagna Company began building carriages in 1849. Ercole Castagna, the son of the company’s founder, bodied cars for movie stars, royalty and even the Pope. This Astura is one of his finest creations.

The engine is Lancia’s 2.9-liter, narrow-angle V-8 design with the single cylinder head first patented for the Lancia Dilambda.

A truly great man in automotive history, Vincenzo Lancia accomplished a fair deal more than many others who are far better known yet contributed far less to the accumulation of data and techniques shared by the whole world’s automotive community. Yet those who know great engineering design relish Lancia’s cars. In the early 1920s, they had independent front suspension, along with steering considered the best in the world — and all of it mounted on integrated body-chassis structures in 1922. Lancias were the first cars in Europe to have complete electrical systems, each with narrow-angle V engines, first V-4s, then V-8s.

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