This isn’t another 48, if you can call a Tucker 48
that; this is Preston Tucker’s personal car, chassis number 1029. After
undertaking high-speed tests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tucker and his
family drove it for seven years. In 1955, Preston Tucker sold it to Winthrop
Rockefeller.
The car changed a few hands before being sold to
Jack Bart in 1967. Bart, a well-known automotive enthusiast, had the car
refinished in its original color and supplied it to the production of the 1988
film “Tucker: The Man and His Dream”, starring Jeff Bridges.
The specific Tucker 48 has covered 19,199 miles is
described to be in a solid and original condition, and is accompanied by a
history file created by noted Tucker historian, Jay Follis.
As with the majority of the 51 Tuckers, this one is
powered by a Franklin O-335 flat six engine. Measuring 5.5-liters in capacity,
the engine produces 166 hp. “The Car of Tomorrow”, as it was once called,
managed to create a massive hype prior to its launch but politics along with
development issues meant that Preston Tucker’s dream would remain grounded,
just like DeLorean's.
The car is set to cross the auction block at RM
Sotheby’s Arizona event on January 18.
