The Stutz name is one of the most revered in the history of American automobiles. The Bearcat of 1914 was sporty and quick, and the Series AA of 1928 was as good as anything from Europe. In 1928, a Bearcat Model BB lead the 24 hours of Le Mans until the last hour, when a failing gearbox dropped it to second behind a Bentley. In 1930, the Stutz engine was developed into the DV32, an advanced twin-cam six with four valves per cylinder. Stutz made many fabulous cars, but the Depression killed them (along with most other American luxury car makers) in 1934. The Stutz name, however, was not so easily laid to rest.
The Creator
Virgil M. Exner was a legend in the American auto industry. Starting out with absolutely no automobile design experience, the college dropout was hired (based only on a few sketches he had done) in 1934 by Harley Earle to be a part of his new Art and Color Section at General Motors styling. Exner was quickly promoted to head of styling for Pontiac from 1934 to 1938, and then was lured away by the great Raymond Loewy to work on the Studebaker account. After WWII, Exner went to work for Studebaker directly and designed the respected '47 models.
In 1949, he moved to Chrysler where he later became Vice President and Director of Styling. While at Chrysler he oversaw the production of many significant models, including the "forward-look" '55 Chryslers that revitalized the company, the 300C musclecar, and a series of Ghia-built show cars. One of the Chrysler show cars, the '53 d'Elegance, was the inspiration for the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia! The '57 Chryslers debuted the huge tail fins that would forever define the late-'50s. In 1962, he was replaced as styling head during a management purge, but continued to consult for Chrysler until 1964.
In 1963, he established his own design firm, and soon had penned a series of designs for neoclassic cars based on modern running gear. Some of these designs were later produced as show cars or as scale models, but in 1966, he joined a company that intended to build a new Duesenberg based on a Chrysler Imperial chassis.
This project never got beyond the first prototype, but one of the people approached for funding, New York investment broker James D. O'Donnell, liked the concept. He suggested that he and Exner go into business to build a similar car with the Stutz nameplate. Since Stutz had been out of business so long, after a few legal skirmishes they were able to obtain the right to use the name.
In 1968, O'Donnell and Exner decided on a luxury sedan based on the Pontiac Grand Prix. They intended to change the body styling and interior, but leave the running gear stock to facilitate maintenance. They were supported by Pontiac chief John Z. DeLorean, father of the GTO, who offered to supply the raw material, and O'Donnell raised $1.2 million to get everything started.
Exner had always preferred flamboyant styling, and the new Stutz was no exception. A very long nose was capped with a small vertical grille, while the sides had sculptured waves cut into the front and rear fenders. Ghia built the first prototype in 1969, and, according to a paper later written by O'Donnell, Exner intended the nose to have a subtle phallic appearance. The front windshield was split in the middle (like many pre-war cars) and there was no bumper in back (the exposed spare tire served as the bumper). The most distinctive feature was the chrome-plated, nonfunctional side pipe sticking out of the front fender.
Under the guidance of O'Donnell, a factory was set-up in Cavallermaggiore, Italy, where skilled craftsman modified the Pontiac sheetmetal to match Exner's design. These techniques were typical of Italian small-volume shops, a specialty that gave rise to Ferrari, Maserati, and hundreds of lesser marques as well. A full-scale wooden form was made to hammer the steel body panels over. No fiberglass on this baby!