The Stutz IV-Porte (also called Duplex and Victoria) were
sedans produced by the
Stutz Motor Car of America company in the 1970s and 1980s. The Stutz Diplomatica and later Royale were
limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...
s produced by the
Stutz Motor Car of America company in the 1970s and 1980s. All these cars shared characteristic design features, such as a spare tire protruding through the trunklid and freestanding headlamps as well as a very luxurious interior, with the
Stutz Blackhawk
The Stutz Blackhawk is an American ultra-luxury car manufactured from 1971 through 1987. Other than the name it bears no resemblance to the original Blackhawk (1929–1930). The Stutz Motor Company was revived in August 1968 by New Yor ...
coupe designed by
Virgil Exner
Virgil Max "Ex" Exner Sr. (September 24, 1909 – December 22, 1973) was an automobile designer for several American automobile companies, most notably Chrysler and Studebaker.
Exner is widely known for the "Forward Look" he created for the ...
.
Stutz Duplex
The Duplex was a sedan version of the
Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...
coupe. A four-door prototype was built in 1970 by ''Carrozzeria Padane'', Modena, Italy. The sedan was offered in 1972 by the name ''Limousine'' and in 1973 by the name ''Duplex'' for US$32,500 (adjusted for inflation appr. US$170,000 in 2010 dollars). The Duplex was discontinued in 1974. Only one or two were built.
Stutz IV-Porte
The IV-Porte was produced from 1979 through 1981 on the
GM B platform
The B platform (also known as the B body) is a full-size rear-wheel drive car platform that was produced by General Motors (GM) from 1926 to 1996. Originally made for Oldsmobile and Buick, all of General Motors's five main makes would use it at ...
Pontiac Bonneville
The Pontiac Bonneville is an automobile built by Pontiac from 1957 until 2005. Bonnevilles were full-sized, with the exception of a brief period of mid-size between 1982 and 1986. The brand was introduced as a limited production performance conv ...
/
Oldsmobile 88 Royale/
Buick LeSabre
The Buick LeSabre is a full-size car made by the division Buick of General Motors from 1959 until 2005. Prior to 1959, this position had been retained by the full-size Buick Special model (1936–58). The "LeSabre", which is French for "the sa ...
platform. About 50 cars were built. The 1981 IV-Porte sedan was priced US$84,500 (adjusted for inflation appr. US$203,000 in 2010 dollars). Singer
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...
owned a white 1980 Stutz IV-Porte. In the movie ''
Night Shift'' Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski (played by
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in '' Beetlejuice'' ...
) appears to be driving a 1981 IV-Porte sedan.
Barry White
Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...
owned a 1979 IV-Porte, the car was located by and restored for his widow on the History channel television show ''
Counting Cars
''Counting Cars'' is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series, which is the third spinoff of ''Pawn Stars'', is filmed in Las Vegas, where it chronicles the daily activities at Count's ...
''.
Stutz Victoria
In 1981 the IV-Porte was discontinued and replaced by the Victoria. This sedan was longer, offering more legroom and folding tables in the back, and was positioned as a limousine, complete with Stutz-provided driver service. It kept design features as the protruding spare on the trunklid and the freestanding headlamps but lacked the
sidepipes. About 20 cars were built.
Many of these Victorias, all of them white, were sold to the
House of Saud, the Royal family of Saudi Arabia. But within 2 to 3 years all of them were retired due to various malfunctions.
The 1985 Victoria was priced US$99,500 (adjusted for inflation appr. US$202,000 in 2010 dollars). A well maintained 1985 Stutz Victoria (black with red leather interior) was auctioned off at Fort Lauderdale, USA, on March 6, 2011 for US$39,050.
Stutz Diplomatica
The Diplomatica, introduced in 1981 and produced through 1985, was a standard-wheelbase limousine based on the
Cadillac DeVille
The Cadillac DeVille is the nameplate used by Cadillac over eight generations, originally used to designate a trim level of the 1949 Cadillac Series 62 and later to designate a standalone model in the brand range. The last model marketed specif ...
. It had many design-similarities with the larger Stutz Royale. Of the seven Diplomaticas produced, all but one were purchased for use in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
.
The 1981 armored version was priced US$225,000 (adjusted for inflation appr. US$540,000 in 2010 dollars).
Stutz Royale
Three extended-wheelbase limousines designed by
Paolo Martin
Paolo Martin (born 1943) is an Italian car designer widely known for his career with Studio Tecnico Michelotti, Carrozzeria Bertone, Pininfarina and De Tomaso/Ghia where he styled the ''Ferrari Dino Berlinetta Competizione'', Ferrari Modulo con ...
were also produced, the latter two using the Royale name in homage to the
Bugatti Royale. The first two were purchased by
King Fahd
Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...
of Saudi Arabia, while the third went to
Omar Bongo
El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second President of Gabon for 42 years, from 1967 until his death in 2009. Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions as ...
, the President of
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
.
These 25-foot (7.5 m) state limousines had a throne in the back that could be raised above a sliding roof and rotate 360 degrees. This allowed the occupant to be in full view during a ceremonial parade. The throne could be dropped instantly and the roof closed automatically.
The 1981 armored version of the Royale was in the Stutz pricelist for US$285,000 (adjusted for inflation appr. US$684,000 in 2010 dollars). Stutz used armor on their
Chevrolet Suburban-based armored SUVs
Defender/Gazelle/Bear.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stutz Iv-Porte
IV-Porte
1970s cars
1980s cars