Fleetwood Coachwork

By: Dan Vaughan

The Fleetwood Metal Body was formed in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania in April of 1909 and later relocated to Detroit in 1931. Their wood and metal automobile bodies were popular with royalty, movie stars, and American presidents, and built atop numerous chassis including those from Lincoln, Pierce-Arrow, Packard, Stutz, Bentley, Daniels, Duesenberg, Fiat, Isotta Fraschni, Mercedes-Benz, and Cadillac. The majority of bodywork created in Pennsylvania were used to cloth Packards, with the remained being split between Lincoln and Cadillac.

Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Roadster by Fleetwood

Isotta Fraschini is best remembered for the development of the Tipo 8 Series automobile that debuted in 1912, featuring an inline eight-cylinder engine - the first of its type put into series production anywhere in the world. The successor was the Tipo 8A series introduced in 1924, offering 115 horsepower, a redesigned frame and suspension, and Isotta's highly regarded three-speed transmission. These cars were the ultimate in luxury and extremely expensive.

This car, a 1927 Isotta Fraschini, was commissioned by Rudolf Valentino. Valentino had been a true car aficionado and his car of choice was the Isotta Fraschini built in his native homeland of Italy. At a cost of $25,000, Valentino hired American coachbuilders LeBaron and Fleetwood to design and built this unique roadster on the high-performance 8A S chassis. This Tipo 8A Roadster was one of two similar cars bodied by Fleetwood. It was the last example that was commissioned by Valentino and was ordered through a New York distributor. Valentino himself was reportedly involved in the cars' design work. Valentino never had a chance to drive the car as he passed away suddenly at age 31. The car was exhibited at the 1926 New York Auto Salon and then put on display in the front window of Isotta Motors. Priced at $25,000 it was suggested that it should be cut into 100 pieces and sold for $250 each to mourning fans.

Seriously affected by the economic crisis of the 1930's and then by the disruptions of World War II, Isotta-Fraschini stopped making cars after the war. Only five of the last model, the Monterosa, were produced. The plants were converted to produce marine engines.

1927 Mercedes-Benz 630K Roadster by Fleetwood

In 1926 Mercedes-Benz introduced the Model K. It used the same six-cylinder switchable supercharged (kompressor) engine as its predecessor and the same overall chassis architecture except that the wheelbase was shortened to 130 inches (the 'K' stands for 'kurzer radstand' or short wheelbase). The 6.2-liter engine was equipped with a larger supercharger similar to those fitted to the later S models making it the world's fastest production car with speeds exceeding 90 mph. From the right side of the bonnet/hood emerged three metal exhaust pipes merging at the lower edge to a single exhaust. This detail later became a hallmark of Mercedes-Benz supercharged cars.

The body for this unique Model K was ordered by William Sloan of Rochester, New York, after seeing the Isotta Fraschini Roadster built by Fleetwood for Rudolph Valentino at the 1926 New York Auto Salon. Sloan kept the car in his garage alongside two other supercharged Mercedes. In the late 1940s, it was acquired by Paul Brewer Conaway of Chillicothe, Ohio, and it stayed with his family until the late 1980s. After two more collectors, its current owner bought the car in 2018.

Specification Comparison

	Isotta Fraschini	Mercedes-Benz
Wheelbase	145.6 inch	130 inch
Cylinders	5.9-liter Inline-8	6.3-liter Inline-6 (Supercharged)
Horsepower	135 bhp	170 bhp
Transmission	3-speed manual	4-speed manual
Brakes	Power-assisted drum	Mechanical drum
Suspension	Semi-Elliptic Leaf Springs	Semi-Elliptic Springs and Friction Dampers. Solid front; live rear axle

Photo credit: Dan Vaughan
posted on conceptcarz.com

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