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Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Virgil Exner's Stutz Blackhawk

Gorgeous ONES Initially, Stutz was one of American luxury sportscar brands owned by Stutz Motor Company an Indianapolis-based company began production in 1911 and ended in 1935. After hibernating for about 3 decades, the brand was revived in 1968 by James O'Donnell, a New York banker in collaboration with world-renowned automotive designers and former Chrysler's design chief Virgil Exner.
1973 Stutz Blackhawk III was known as one of Elvis Presley's favorite cars and had seen being used by him a few hours before passing away in 1977. (Picture from: LifeStyle)
The company was re-established under the new management of Stutz Motor Car of America, Inc., and produced new modern retro look car models. Although technically the company still exists, sales of vehicles produced by the factory actually had stopped in 1995.

And the famous car production of this company is the Stutz Blackhawk which was made between 1971 and 1987. Besides its name, there is no other resemblance to the original Blackhawk version once produced by the Stutz Motor Company between 1929-1930.
This golden-colored 1976 Stutz Blackhawk Coupe have been sold at prices of the US $36,300 or around Rp. 532 million in a Barret-Jackson auction event at Las Vegas back in 2015. (Picture from: OtoBtiz)
It can be said that's the latest version of Blackhawk designed by Virgil Exner, and adopted the most radical designs includes spare tires that stand out prominently in the rear trunk, large front grille and slightly stand out, up to the freely mounted headlights. So the Blackhawk' design was sent to Carrozzeria Ghia, a renowned Italian coachbuilder company to be built as a prototype at a cost of over US $300,000 at the time.
1971 Stutz Blackhawk uses a Pontiac V8 455 cubic inches engine mated to a three-speed GM TH400 automatic transmission. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)
And the Stutz Blackhawk first debuted at Waldorf Astoria, New York City in January 1970 and sold at prices ranged from the US $22,500 to $75,000, which was quite expensive at the time. When the car production began in 1971, all early versions of the Blackhawk had a body style coupe and were built by hand.
Interior view of 1971 Stutz Blackhawk. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)
The initial version of the Stutz Blackhawk uses a Pontiac V8 engine with a dimension of 455 cubic inches with a 7.5-liter capacity, mated to a three-speed GM TH400 automatic transmission. The engine that is set is capable of producing 425 hp (317 kW) of torque of 570 Nm (420 ft.lb).

Although weighing 2,300 kg, Stutz Blackhawk capable to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 8.4 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 130 mph (210 kph), with the fuel usage of 8 miles per gallon (30 liters per 100 km).
Rearview of 1971 Stutz Blackhawk includes spare tires that stand out prominently over the rear trunk. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)
By the time production ended in 1987, around 575 units of Stutz Blackhawk had been sold to exclusive customers throughout the US and several other countries worldwide. Some famous Stutz Blackhawk owners include the world's famous singers such Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Billy Joel, Elton John, to Paul McCartney, then the actor Dean Martin, Al Pacino and the comedian Sammy Davis Jr.
Known, Elvis Presley ever had owned 5 units of this car, with the first being purchased by him for the US $26,500 on October 9, 1970, after one 'price bidding war' happened between him and his colleague Frank Sinatra. Over the next few years, he bought four more units. *** [EKA[180320] | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | LIFESTYLE | JALOPNIK]
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