Lot 268

Hershey 2011

1921 Hudson Super Six Speedster

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$27,500 USD | Sold

United States | Hershey, Pennsylvania

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76 bhp, 289 cu. in. inline six-cylinder engine, three-speed sliding gear manual transmission, solid front and semi-floating rear axles, semi-elliptic leaf springs, and two-wheel mechanical brakes. Wheelbase: 125.5"

- Ex-Harrah’s Collection

- Mechanical restoration in previous ownership

- New Haartz cloth top

Although Hudson advertised itself as the “Worlds Largest Builder of Six-Cylinder Cars” as early as 1915, greater fame came from the new Super Six engine introduced late the following year, which was uncannily smooth, thanks to its counterbalanced crankshaft, the brainchild of Hungarian engineer and mathematician Stephen Fekete. The engine was conservatively rated at 70 bhp, and it was so successful that it helped Hudson set new records for transcontinental crossing, the Pike’s Peak hillclimb and the mile at Daytona Beach. In 1917, drivers Ralph Mulford, Ira Vail, Billy Taylor and A.H. Patterson campaigned a team of Hudson speedsters.

With close-coupled four-passenger Phaeton coachwork by Fisher, the owner states this 1921 Hudson Super Six Speedster is believed to have been originally used as a San Francisco police car, prior to being owned by 20th Century Fox studios, and then joined the famed Reno, Nevada collection of the casino magnate and legendary automotive collector William Harrah.

Mr. Bill Nichols of Orinda, California, a Hudson Club member, acquired this Speedster in non-running condition in 1984. An aeronautical worker at one of the many aircraft manufacturers in the San Francisco Bay area, Mr. Nichols performed a meticulous mechanical restoration on the classic Hudson, including re-boring of the cylinders, plus balancing and blueprinting to exact tolerances.

Following this work, Mr. Nichols toured the car extensively. The current owners acquired it in 2007, and they added a new Haartz cloth top and removed the side-mounted spare tires in favor of a more correct rear-mount arrangement. As offered, the Speedster is complete with a selection of documents from the 1984 Harrah auction, invoices for the work performed by and under Mr. Nichols, correspondence and an original owner’s bulletin. The owners have always enjoyed this delightful Speedster and have described its operating condition as “on the button.”