I've wanted to see this car in person for a long time. It's original. That's right, stone cold ORIGINAL 1932 Peerless 16. The car was designed by Franklin Hershey at the age of 22 when he was with Murphy. The costruction is all aluminum and the bright "mouldings" visible are elements of the fenders left raw and polished. It's been a subject of study and an amazing icon of it's time, preserved and polished since 1932. Everything is as it was, but let's forget that. Look at it. Look at the fade away body lines in the rear sails and around the windshield. Look at the door tops, how they roll into the roof. Even the interior handles wear me out with their restraint, but they're also as bold as the car itself. The car is in the care of the Crawford Automotive and Aviation Museum in Cleveland,OH. If you ever have the chance, don't miss it. It will move you, I promise. And yes, they did drive it on to the field that day. This was at the Glenmoor Gathering. Enjoy: The details are marvelous. The flow of the fenders into each other by way of the running boards, the fuel fill, the simplicity of the interior and it's beautiful woodwork. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did.
very cool indeed. I would imagine that the doors were designed like that so the always hat wearing owner and his wife could enter and exit the car easier.
On a bit of a sidenote: The Lamborghini muria was all designed by kids 22-24. This car is just beautiful though. I'd love to see it in person. Wow I'd be happy to have that in my garage
What no picture of the dash? What a great car. That is the first aluminum bodied car that I have seen where they polished the raised portions of the fenders to look like chrome. What a great idea. Love the way the doors open into the roof, like a 63 Stingray coupe.
This is one of one and the last Peerless built. It's never been "owned" by anyone in the sense we think of things. The body was built by Murphy of Pasedena, CA as a prototype for a new series of Peerless. Too late though, they didn't make it. From wiki: In 1930-31, Peerless commissioned Murphy Body Works of Pasadena, California, to design what the company envisioned as its 1933 model. The task was ***igned to a young Frank Hershey. Hershey's design for Peerless was a remarkably clean, elegant vehicle, powered by the company's planned V16 engine. Just as the car was ready to be shipped back to Cleveland, the Board of Directors pulled Peerless out of the automobile business and reoriented the company to brew beer under the Carling Black Label brand. The last production model was 1932. Hershey's prototype was walled up in a room at the Peerless factory where it sat until the end of World War II. Hershey's prototype is now owned by the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland.
Everything on that car flows so well with the rest of the design that you don't notice the little details at first glance. Mr Hershey was a very gifted designer.
He had quite a career..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hershey Uncluding designing the 55 Thunderbird. Rich
That's really an extraordinary design. Thanks very much for posting it. In addition to the polished reveals and the wrap-over door tops, there are a couple of other distinctive features about it: - The silhouette of the body is quite low for a car of its vintage. - The absence of drip rails (obviously a result of the door design) gives the upper body an unusually sleek and simple appearance. - The windshield, higher than the side windows, is probably quite practical but rather unusual. Instead of the sinister, frowning look of many high-end '30s bodies, it looks a little bit "startled". - The grille may be the most elegant and beautiful I've ever seen on a car of that era. I searched Google Images for other Peerlesses with that grille, and it looks like it was probably unique to that car. I've long been an admirer of Frank Hershey's and Murphy's work. The late Strother MacMinn, best known for his long career as an instructor at Art Center, was a contemporary of Hershey's at Murphy and considered him a mentor. Mac was so young when he was hired at Murphy that he rode his bicycle to work; he was too young to get a driver's license!
WOW...and the 49 Caddy tailfins! That "kid" didn't fade away...he was a major automotive styling force. Thanks for the link!
Yes it is the only one ever made. Every piece and part designed for this car and made by hand. Engine, ch***is, body, everything. Peerless was one of America's most expensive cars at the time. The "3 Ps" of luxury cars were Packard, Peerless and Pierce Arrow. It was supposed to be the prototype for a new 16 cylinder ultra luxury model to compete with Cadillac V16, Duesenberg, Pierce Arrow and Packard V12. But the company management decided to drop auto production and switch to brewing beer with the end of Prohibition.
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