1932 Pierce-Arrow Model 51 Sport Coupe

This Pierce-Arrow Model 51 was believed to be the car exhibited at the 1932 New York Auto Show and one of the very earliest twelve-cylinder Pierce-Arrows produced. The Model 51 was intended to wow people with Pierce-Arrow's new V12, which was coupled with the substantial 147-inch wheelbase usually intended for sedans and limousines. This capacious two-passenger Sport Coupe coached by LeBaron, features a rumble seat, a distinctive low windshield, padded leather roofline, and elegant landau bars. Pierce-Arrow was considered a stately marque with gravitas, and the 51 Sport Coupe served as a transition into more contemporary styling, a harbinger of the 1933 Silver Arrow with its dramatic sweeping lines.

This is the fourth Model 51 produced by Pierce-Arrow and is exceptionally rare, to the point of being omitted from some Pierce-Arrow catalogues. In 2016, it was discovered in a barn where it had been stored for fifty years.