1934 Brewster Ford Town Cabriolet DeVille

This 1934 Brester Ford Town Car is a unique coach-built vehicle constructed to Edsel Ford's specifications. The coachwork was handled by Brewster and fitted on a Ford V8 chassis. The Brewster Company had a strong reputation with many prominent automakers, such as Rolls-Royce, who bodied many of the American-built Rolls-Royce cars that left the Springfield, Massachusetts plant.

The Brewster Ford was intended to be a line of custom-built Brewster cars built atop a Ford chassis. The front of the Brewster Ford features flying fenders, a split Art Deco bumper with a heart-shaped grille, and many other prominent features. The design was handled by John S. Inskip, the president of Brewster at the time.

Edsel's car was the third one built and featured slightly different styling than the others. It had a Model 40 grille and a hood that lacked louvers. There are 16-inch wheels and a 1938-type banjo steering wheel. The car was sent to Edsel in Michigan via railcar. On its journey, it was still being assembled. Edsel took delivery on June 1st of 1934 and was the first car to reach the public. In 1939, it was fitted with a Mercury L-Head V8 engine that displaced 239 cubic inches and produced nearly 100 horsepower.

Another twelve Brewster Fords were ordered by Edsel, all with 1935 Model 48 Ford grilles. Only two were built before Brewster & Co was sold at auction in August of 1937. It is uncertain how many Brewster Fords were built.

This car was brought to the 2008 Automobiles of Amelia presented by RM Auctions where it was one of the highlights of the event. It was sold for $198,000, including the buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2013

This 1934 'one off' custom Ford Brewster was built for Edsel Ford. It is completely original (66,000 plus actual miles) and is unrestored. It is the only Brewster built that did not use the normal Brewster front end. A 1934 Ford grill was installed at Edsel's request. The car was recently discovered after being in storage for the last 55 years. This is a historically significant original automobile; it runs and drives like a new car, and is one of only a few in existence that actually belonged to Edsel Ford.

This is the third Brewster Ford built but it is the very first one shipped to a customer and was done at Edsel's request. It was the first one shipped to a customer and was done at Edsel's request. It was the first one seen by the general public.

The car is on a stretched 127-inch wheelbase. The hood has no louvers. This is the only Brewster with a Brewster dash; the standard dash was Ford. The steering wheel is a 'Banjo' wheel unlike the other Brewsters. The car also has 16-inch wheels; the standard wheels were 17-inch. Edsel had the engine changed to a new and more powerful Mercury engine in March 1939.

Edsel had the car kept in New York at the Ford Dealer, where he and his family could use it while in New York.