1932 Marmon Sixteen Coupe

The Marmon Motor Company of Indianapolis built its first cars in 1902. Originally powered by air-cooled engines, first a twin-cylinder then 4-, 6- and 8-cylinders, they later moved to more conventional engine designs. The 1909 Wasp model won the first Indianapolis 500 race, sporting the first-ever rearview mirror as the company continued gaining a reputation for building fast, reliable cars. By the late 1920s, Howard Marmon began developing a 16-cylinder engine, but the stock market crash of 1929 delayed its introduction until 1931. Only Marmon and Cadillac produced V-16 engines at that point.

In 1926, Howard Marmon began work on his first 16-cylinder luxury car and, four years later, in November 1930, the Marmon Sixteen debuted at the Chicago Auto Salon. The engine was a compact 45-degree V16 that developed 200 horsepower, and the car's 145-inch wheelbase chassis was clothed in a variety of attractive, Art Deco-inspired coachwork. The bodies were all built by LeBaron and designed by the father-and-son team of Walter Dorwin Teague Senior and Junior. Sadly, the first Marmon Sixteens weren't finished until April 1931, by which time Cadillac's V-16 had been on the market for over a year. Sales of the Marmon V16s never matched those of the 8-cylinder cars, and by May 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, the company closed. Fewer than 400 Marmon Sixteens were sold.

The Marmon Sixteen earned Howard Marmon a medal for outstanding achievement from the Society of Automotive Engineers.

Mr. Marmon's masterpiece 45-degree, V-16 engine is a compact design making 200 horsepower from 491 cubic inches of displacement. The 145-inch wheelbase chassis is conventional, although it was known for exceptionally light and responsive steering and stability at speed. They factory-tested each car for over 200 miles on the nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This 2-passenger, 3-window coupe is one of just six coupes that have survived. It was acquired by the current owner in 2000, who is the past president and historian of the Marmon Club, painstakingly restored this car to be driven.