 |
| Rare and unrestored, this exceptional automobile has been in private ownership for the last half century |
Recently discovered after having been tucked away in the Pacific Northwest for more than half a century, Bonhams is proud to offer one of the most fabled, important and truly special Cords from the estate of Jay Hyde: the 1930 Cord L-29 Town Car with coachwork by Murphy & Company.
One of just four survivors known to have been built, this exceedingly rare automobile, attributed to famed silver screen actress Dolores del Rio (who starred alongside such legends as Elvis Presley, Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Orson Welles, and many more) is not only unique in its model and history but also totally original.
The Cord motorcar is regarded by enthusiasts, collectors and historians as one of the greatest American automobiles ever made. Innovative and advanced for its time, Cords were powerful, cutting-edge, luxurious and stylish. Due to the timing of the company’s debut, however – just before the great stock market crash of 1929 – the Cord marque was short lived and production numbers were low. (In fact, it is thought that of the L-29 model, in all its variations, only around 300 exist today.) Furthermore, very few Cords were ever supplied to coachbuilders, making custom bodied examples such as this extremely uncommon; those in unrestored condition, such as this, are as rare as hen’s teeth.
Owned by Jay Hyde since 1959 up until his passing in 2014, the car was carefully kept and sparingly used in a private manner. Very rarely seen in public, in 1987 it emerged to be shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance alongside others of its breed in a class devoted solely to custom bodied Cords. With its shorter wheelbase, the beautifully proportioned L-29 Town Car is powered by a strong 8-cylinder inline engine providing 125bhp, while intricate detail throughout illustrates the hallmarks of a bespoke, handbuilt car of this golden age. Still in its original and unrestored state, the car is incredibly well preserved and runs well – a testament to the impressive stewardship of Hyde.
With pre-war automobiles in original condition becoming more uncommon and more highly prized, this Cord, with its scarce coachbuilt body and ascribed Hollywood glamour, is surely one of the most desirable cars of its kind anywhere in the world.
The distinctive Cord, along with many more exceptional collectors’ automobiles, will be featured at Bonhams’ Amelia Island Auction on Thursday, March 12th at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club in Fernandina Beach, Florida.
For more information about this highly anticipated event, please visit Bonhams.com/Amelia.
Scroll down to read more articles like this which have been published recently
Why not Sign-up to Receive these Articles by Email each Day
* Read more current and archived articles on our dedicated website *
Low Cost and Free Publicity - Your company can easily benefit from some publicity like this in return for a contribution towards our layout costs (typically £30 plusVAT), payable via PayPal or credit card or receive the service absolutely free of charge if you advertise (see below).
We post articles up to twice a day and never delete them - we only archive them each year so that they continue to remain visible to search engines.
To have your story published - just send us your news item, logo and image(s) and we will review the material, make any necessary changes to the wording / wordcount and then advise you when it will be published.
If you take display advertising or product and literature features in our printed and online publications, you will qualify for regular free postings on this blog while you continue to advertise with us.
For details on features and advertising rates please contact us or visit our website.
Door Industry Journal is a trading style of Avalon Innovations LLP Company Registration No. 06807833
No comments:
Post a Comment