Last week I asked who married a chorus girl, had three cars of the same name, with the first having a 23 liter aero engine in a lengthened Mercedes chassis. That should have been enough clues. It wasn’t’ Tucker, it was Count Zborowski and the cars were Chitty-Bang-Bangs. (The show was Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.)
Since we mentioned the Tucker, let’s look a little further at this legendary motor car. The history and specifications of the Tucker 48 (or Tucker Torpedo as it was initially called) are very interesting.
Called in its advertising blurb as the first “new” car in 50 years, it was the brainchild of Preston Thomas Tucker (1903-1956). Tucker was a great fan of motor racing and a most inventive mind. He hung around Indy and worked with the race car designer and engineer Harry Miller, another individualist.
The Tucker 48 was designed in Michigan, but built in Chicago in a vast factory that is now the site of the “Ford City Mall” on Cicero Avenue. (Now that’s REAL trivia, for you!) The styling was done by Alex S. Tremulis and honestly, while “futuristic”, it could never be called a classic beauty (in the style of a 540 K Benz, for example).
The car was put together by chief mechanic John Eddie Offutt, who had worked with Tucker and Harry Miller at Indy. See how “racing improves the breed” as somebody used to say in their advertising?
The specifications included an H-6 engine (horizontally opposed), ohv, 335 ci (4.50 x 3.50 in. bore x stroke), 7.0:1 compression ratio, developing 166 bhp with 372 lbs/ft torque. The cars were not small with a 128″ wheelbase, 219″ overall length, 60″ high, 79″ wide and weighed a whopping 4,200 pounds.
Despite the weight, they were no slouches, doing 0-60 mph in 10 seconds and had a reported top speed of 120 mph. Only 51 were built, but 47 still survive today, now 70 years later. Not a bad effort! By the way, they cost $2450 then and the last one sold for over one million dollars at Auction. That’s certainly a hedge against inflation!
One of the quiz entrants, who only signed the fax as “Thomas”, mentioned that a film was made about Tucker and his cars. There certainly was, Thomas. It was called “Tucker, the Man and His Dream” and was produced by Francis Ford Coppola and released in 1988.
A little more info for the Tucker buffs out there – he also designed a gun turret used in WWII, but his armored personnel carrier was rejected by the U.S. Government because it went too fast!
So to this week. Who is the biggest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world? Be the first correct answer to email [email protected] or [email protected]. And in addition, if you are a Pattaya resident, the closest correct answer will win a free voucher for Casa Pascal’s Breakfast BBQ. One local resident wrote back to say he had enjoyed the Casa Pascal BBQ brunch and went so far as to say it is the best breakfast in Thailand. Good luck!
 |
 |
