The Excalibur automobile is a car styled after the 1928
Mercedes-Benz SSK by
Brooks Stevens for
Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Man ...
. Stevens subsequently formed a company to manufacture and market the cars, which were a standard Studebaker car with special bodywork (and soon got an upgraded engine as well).
The Excalibur has a Neoclassic design, a term used to designate automobiles produced in the 1960s–1990s in the elegant and prestigious style cars of the 1920s and 1930s. Zimmer and Tiffany are two additional examples of Neoclassic design.
A prototype premiered at car shows in 1963, fitted on a
Studebaker Lark Convertible chassis and using a Studebaker 289 V-8. Studebaker ceased engine production in December 1963 and consolidating all manufacturing to its Hamilton, Ontario, plant, ending the availability of that engine.
Stevens subsequently obtained engines from
General Motors
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
through his friends GM executives
Ed Cole and
Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen. These were
Chevrolet 327s in
Corvette tune, making the Excalibur a strong performer. With the standard 3.31:1 rear axle, acceleration from took less than six seconds. Projected top speed was .
Over 3,500 Excalibur cars were built, all in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
.
The American comedian
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, Actor, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric stage persona, Self-deprecation, se ...
was a notable proponent of the Excalibur automobile, and owned four of them.
The company failed in 1986 but was revived several times. Production of the Excalibur continued until 1990.
See also
*
Clénet Coachworks
*
Cumberford Martinique
*
Desande
*
Sherwood Egbert
*
Stutz Blackhawk
*
Zimmer (automobile)
References
External links
Site d'information sur l'automobile Excalibur(France)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Excalibur (Automobile)
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Wisconsin
Retro-style automobiles