From The Classifieds: 1973 Stutz Blackhawk

Famed American car stylist Virgil Exner had many notable design credits to his credit and played a significant role in steering the US car industry in the 1950s – but you still have to wonder what he was thinking when he penned the Stutz Blackhawk.

The first Blackhawk hit the roads in 1970 when Elvis Presley splashed out a reputed US$26,500 to purchase a prototype model flown in from Italy, where it was assembled, to the US for viewing by potential (cashed up) clients.

A recreation of a US car brand made famous in the early 1900s, the Stutz Blackhawk was available as a convertible or coupe and was built on General Motors underpinnings clad in a heavy-gauge body that was handmade in Italy.

The Stutz revival was the brainchild of New York businessman James O’Donnell, who worked with Virgil Exner to create the outrageous two-door coupe.

The Blackhawk’s styling was way over the top: More than 5790mm long (a Holden Caprice measures 5160mm) and displaying an astonishing mix of conflicting styling directions, the two-door Stutz sported massive front and rear overhangs, a tapered rear deck with spare tyre attached and a jutting grille that made even the most outrageous US cars of the period look almost conservative.

It’s believed each vehicle represented something like 1500 man hours of labour: the 18 to 22-layer paint job alone was a six-week process.

Fuel consumption was in the order of 30L/100km, which was probably acceptable at the time, given the wealthy clientele and the then-cheap fuel prices.

For 1970, the trappings were impressive: The Blackhawk featured 24-carat gold and real wood trim, as well as furnishings that included a liquor cabinet, Connolly leather seats and dash, climate-control air-conditioning, cruise control, power sunroof and an exotic Lear Jet sound system. Auto-dipping headlights and cornering lamps were also part of the deal, as were the air suspension and dummy side pipes running along each side of the massive coupe.

Motivation, over the Blackhawk’s 16-year lifespan, came from a variety of US car-makers including General Motors and Ford. The 1973 model featured here is fitted with a 317kW 455 cubic inch Pontiac V8 teamed with a GM three-speed auto transmission, but the weight of the car meant it took close to nine seconds to accelerate from a standstill to 100km/h. It was definitely a cruiser, not a bruiser.

It is understood that over the Blackhawk’s life, something like 500 to 600 cars were produced before production stopped in 1987.

Elvis Presley was not the only celebrity to buy a Blackhawk: Other owners included Lucille Ball, Dean Martin, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lewis, Liberace, Muhammad Ali, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Al Pacino – and Sammy Davis Junior who, is claimed to be a past owner of the 1973 model featured here.

The car, which currently resides in the outer Melbourne suburb of Lower Templestowe, is said to be “impeccable” and is authenticated by a certificate signed by famous American customiser George Barris – who is also said to have done work on the first of four Blackhawks owned by Elvis Presley.

The Melbourne car is fitted with all the normal Blackhawk trappings, including dual air horns, spoked wheels with 24-carat gold nipples and knock-offs.

Forty-one years after it was painstakingly assembled in Torino, Italy, the black/black Stutz is tagged at $69,000 and is registered through to November 2015. Although the condition is described as impeccable, it will be sold as a classic example of 1970s US styling excesses without a roadworthy certificate.