1927 Stutz Model AA

In 1898, at the age of 22, Harry Stutz proved his talents and mechanical skills by assembling his first gasoline-powered vehicle on his family's farm in Ansonia, Ohio. Capable of driving under its own power, it was named 'Old Hickory' as it was constructed from discarded agricultural equipment components. By 1906, he was an employee of American Motors where he designed a 30-40 horsepower touring car. The following year, he joined Marion Motors as chief engineer, where he designed a rear axle-mounted transaxle.

In 1910, Stutz left Marion to start his own venture, Stutz Auto Parts Company, with the financial backing of his friend Henry Campbell to manufacture the transaxle he had designed. The company was soon tasked with designing a car dubbed the 'Empire' by the individuals who recently had the Indianapolis Motor Speedway paved with bricks. With the funds from the project, Stutz created a vehicle entirely of his own, taking just five weeks to create his first automobile. It was powered by a 398 cubic-inch Wisconsin T-head four-cylinder with four valves per cylinder, driving one of his own transaxles, and wearing a purposeful and minimalistic open coachwork.

The first Stutz racer entered into the inaugural Indianapolis 500-mile race immediately after completion. The project was done in haste, hoping to make the start of the race and leaving no time for any pre-race testing. Despite the lack of preparation, testing, or fine-tuning, the car finished 11th out of 22 entries. Shortly thereafter, the Ideal Motor car company was formed with Campbell's financial backing. The first cars to roll off the production line were in 1911 and were essentially identical copies of the Indianapolis race car with the addition of fenders and lights. They used a T-head Wisconsin four-cylinder engine with 60 horsepower, right-hand steering, and a Stutz-designed transaxle. By 1917, Stutz began using engines of their own creation.

The Stutz Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, enjoyed early success with its motorcars, but sales stagnated during the early 1920s as it was slow to adapt to new ideas, technologies, and designs. As many of its competitors in the upper-middle price range began to introduce new eight-cylinder models, Stutz clung to its six. In 1922, Stutz vehicles finally migrated to left-hand-drive on closed models, and as late as 1923, most Stutz bodies were open models.

Near the close of 1925, Hungarian-born Frederick E. Moscovics arrived at Stutz as the new general motor. He was tasked with modernizing Stutz and given a budget of over $1 million. He quickly abandoned the existing models and commissioned a completely new car known as the Vertical Eight with Safety Chassis.

Through the years that followed, the Stutz returned to prosperity, but as the close of the 1920s came into view, the Stutz Motor Company was involved with several lawsuits, including a breach of contract regarding engine building and over the design of the low-slung worm gear that they had been using. These lawsuits, coupled with dwindling sales due to the Great Depression, crippled the company. Production in 1930 was just 1,500 units, and by 1934, only six Stutz cars were produced. That same year, the factory closed its doors, and the Stutz marque was added to the vast list of companies that did not survive the Great Depression.

The Stutz Eight
Fred Moskovics was a brilliant man and visionary who had built a solid reputation for himself in the auto industry. While at Marmon, he led the company to its most charismatic and high-performance products to date. His ideas for the automobile industry were influenced by the sophisticated machines from Europe and integrated with the designs and technology produced across the Atlantic. To that end, the new Eight-cylinder 'Safety Stutz' was highly sophisticated, using ten main bearings, dual ignition, dual throat carburetion, chain-driven overhead camshafts, and cross-flow porting. The new chassis was equally impressive, developed to complement the performance of the new engine. The Timken worm drive rear axle allowed the whole chassis to rest considerably lower than many other conventional chassis of the era. Stopping power was initially provided by a Timken hydrostatic setup, later replaced by Lockheed hydraulic brakes with oversized finned drums at all four corners. The transmission was initially a three-speed Warner setup.

The 1927 Stutz 'Safety Stutz' Vertical Eight Model AA won every American Stock Car race entered and was declared World's Champion. It set a 24-hour speed record, averaging 68 mph over 24 hours. LeBaron created two custom Blackhawk Speedster bodies, and Stutz designed and built the four-passenger speedster. The Stutz four-passenger body was created for races that required four seats, including the 24 Hours of LeMans. A French Stutz agent entered a stock example of the Stock Stutz Blackhawk Four-Passenger Speedster in the 1927 LeMans race. The Stutz proved its potential early in the race, leading an entire team of works Bentleys, and held onto the lead for much of the race. The ambitions of finishing first came to an end when the Stutz lost high gear later in the race, forcing the Stutz to finish second.

The 1926 Stutz Vertical Eight was offered on a 131-inch chassis. In 1927, the 131-inch platform was joined by a longer 145-inch version along with several new body styles. The list of existing styles included a four- and five-passenger Speedster, four-passenger coupe, brougham, sedan, and a rumble seat coupe. A seven-passenger sedan and Berline were new body styles, resting on the longer wheelbase. The boat-tail design made its debut in 1927 and was the first American car with this style of coachwork.

The 298.6 CID SOHC inline eight-cylinder engine developed 95 horsepower and was backed by a three-speed manual gearbox. The suspension was comprised of a solid front and a live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs. Prices were in the $3,100 range for most body styles except for the 7-passenger cars, which were priced at approximately $3,700.

The 1927 Stutz was the modern successor to the legendary Stutz Bearcat of the Brass Era and America's fastest production car of the time.

by Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2006