1933 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Dual Cowl Sports Phaeton

Isotta Fraschini was founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini. The marque is remembered for producing some of the most luxurious and prestigious cars ever built. They offered one of the first cars with four-wheel brakes and were also among the early pioneers of overhead cam engines. The Tipo 8 was the first production automobile to be powered by a straight-eight engine in 1919.

This chassis was assembled in 1931 with the higher horsepower 8A SS features including a larger vacuum tank and carburetors. The one-off hand-built dual cowl body commissioned by Isotti Fraschini, was designed by Ercole Castagna and was not completed until 1933. It is one of only two known examples of the two-door Sports Tourer produced by Castagna. It was shown by Isotta-Fraschini at the 27th Salon de l'Automobile in Paris in October 1933 before being shipped to New York and put on display at the Isotta-Fraschini showroom in Manhattan. The car's first owner was the famous radio comedian Joe Penner. In the 1940s, it was sold to the George Schweiger Pacific Auto Rentals Collection in Hollywood and became quite the movie star, appearing in many films. The car starred alongside John Wayne and Claudette Colbert in the 1946 film Without Reservations, but its most famous role was in the 1956 film Giant, when it was driven by James Dean.

A complete nut and bolt restoration on this famous Isotta-Fraschini was completed by Evergreen Historic Automobiles in 2018.

One of the early racing highlights of the Società Milanese Automobili Isotta, Fraschini & C. was a victory in the 1908 Targa Florio. The early production vehicles focused on high horsepower and were very successful in motorsports. In 1919, the firm moved into the luxury automotive market with the introduction of the Tipo 8.

The Tipo 8 was introduced by Isotta Fraschini in 1919, making it the first vehicle to feature a 'production' inline eight-cylinder engine. In 1924, the Tipo 8 chassis was thoroughly redesigned, resulting in improved performance and a more comfortable ride. Another benefit was that it could accommodate even larger, heavier, and more stately bodies that had grown in popularity during the mid-1920s. This new update was soon dubbed the Tipo 8A.

At least one-third of 8A models were sold in the United States, with the chassis alone cost around $9,750. With complete coachwork, the cost often exceeded $20,000.

Originally displayed at the 1933 Paris Salon, this car was shipped to the US and sold to radio comedian Joe 'Wanna Buy a Duck' Penner. The car later became the property of Pacific Auto Rentals, a rental company serving major Hollywood studios.

This Isotta Fraschini has been featured in several movies including:
- Giant (1956), starring James Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor
- Mr. Imperium (1951) starring Lana Turner and Debbie Reynolds.
- Without Reservations (1946) starring Claudette Colbert, John Wayne and Don Defore
- Invisible Agent (1942) starring Jon Hall, Ilona Massey, Peter Lorre and Cedric Hardwicke.

The coachwork was created by Ercole Castagna and is a two-door, dual-cowl sports tourer. It is a one-off body with art-deco-style ornamentation on the radiator stone guard which depicts the rays of the sun. There is a rakish V-shaped windscreen, dual cut-down doors, torpedo-style running boards, and twin rear-mounted spares.

After being shown at the Paris Auto Show, the car was shipped to the Isotta Fraschini showroom in New York City for collection by American celebrity Joe Penner. Penner was a popular radio comedian whose catchphrase was 'Wanna buy a duck?' By the 1940s, the car was on the West Coast and in the collection of Pacific Auto Rentals, owned by George Schweiger. His collection of cars numbered in the 150s, and many were often used by Hollywood studios and featured in films. This Tipo 8A was used in the 1956 film, Without Reservations, starring John Wayne and Collette Colbert. It would be used in several other movies during the 1940s and the 1950s.

The car was treated to a restoration in the late 1960s when it was purchased by Matt Browning of Ogden, Utah. While in his care, the car was featured in Angelo Tito Anselmi's book on the marque, Isotta Fraschini. Ownership later passed to the famed Otis Chandler collection and then to another prominent collection.

In 2009, this one-off Tipo 8A Dual Cowl Sports Tourer was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction held in Scottsdale, Arizona, where it was estimated to sell for $1,000,000 - $1,500,000. The lot was sold for $1,089,000, including the buyer's premium.