Controversial 1948 Tucker convertible for sale, again

A novel 1948 Tucker convertible has as soon as once more resurfaced on the market. It is being supplied by Speed up Auto Group, the identical entity that beforehand put it up on the market in 2020.

To recap, Preston Tucker launched his eponymous automotive firm simply after World Battle II with a design that was radically completely different from something supplied by established automakers on the time. Simply 51 Tuckers had been produced earlier than the corporate went underneath.

All manufacturing automobiles had been sedans, however the vendor claims this automotive is a manufacturing unit prototype for a never-produced convertible mannequin. Nevertheless, we’re conscious of no official paperwork that point out a convertible prototype.

In 2009, when this automotive first surfaced in unfinished situation, Jay Follis of the Tucker Car Membership of America issued a press release declaring that the membership had discovered no proof that the manufacturing unit ever constructed such a automotive, in keeping with Hemmings.

Accelerated Auto Group claims the convertible was one in every of a number of unfinished Tuckers the corporate was engaged on when it shut down, and it bears manufacturing unit chassis quantity 57. It contains a strengthened model of the sedan’s chassis, and the vendor claims it was developed with Lenki Engineering, the corporate that helped develop the primary Tucker sedan prototype.

After Tucker went underneath, the convertible allegedly sat at Lenki Engineering till it was offered to an worker on the agency who wished to finish it. The automotive then traded palms a number of occasions earlier than really being accomplished, and has been with the identical proprietor since 2010.

Speed up Auto Group claims to have an affidavit from a former Tucker worker confirming the convertible’s authenticity. The automotive additionally makes use of some unique Tucker elements, together with a rear-mounted air-cooled flat-6 engine and a Wire transmission.

Once we final noticed the Tucker convertible, it was listed on the market on eBay with a However It Now worth of $2.1 million. The asking worth is now $2.4 million. Whether or not it is a real Tucker prototype or not, it’s definitely distinctive. Whether or not it’s distinctive sufficient to command that a lot cash is but to be seen.