Puzzle #96 - Solved! Hupmobile Skylark

[Otto Puzzell]

Know what it is?

Please, respond below and let us know what car you think you see here.

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Thanks!

[Rich]

W/ the pontoon front fenders, to me, it looks Cord-ish.

Or, as always, it could be an Alfa.

[Otto Puzzell]

It is similar to a Cord in appearance, but not  a Cord (nor an Alfa).. 

[SeaLion]

When the Buehrig company (Cord, Auburn and Duesenberg) folded i 1938, the Cord 810 was sold to Hupmobile, which was then sold to Graham. However the Hupmobile and the Graham Hollywood was rear-driven and lesss advanced than the Cord. The retractable headlight was changed with stationary headlights and the details of the cars was different.

So my guess will be the Graham Hollywood.

[Otto Puzzell]

This model is a Hupmobile Sklyark, from 1941.

With the failure of the Auburn Automobile Co., its Cord body dies and other tooling became available at a favourable price. The outstanding styling was not forgotten, especially by an auto entrepreneur by the name of Norman DeVaux. He felt that the styling was too good to waste, and that with a simpler, less expensive powertrain it could be successful.

DeVaux lacked the resources to pursue the Cord body idea on his own, so he approached Graham-Paige Motors Corp. of Detroit to see if they would be interested in producing a less expensive rear-wheel drive version of the Cord design.

Financially pressed Graham thought the concept had merit, but had to decline, suggesting that the Hupp Motor Corporation of Detroit might be interested. DeVaux approached Hupp, whose cars had been selling slowly, and they liked the idea of a Cord-based Hupmobile. They took DeVaux on as general manager.

Devaux acquired the Cord dies and jigs, and the result was the 1939 Hupmobile Junior Six. Not surprisingly, the Junior Six looked uncannily like the Cord 810, the principal difference being a slightly altered grille and the exposed headlamps located between the fenders and the hood.

Hupp management liked the car but wanted something more distinctive. John Tjaarda, who had styled the Lincoln Zephyr for the Ford Motor Company, was engaged to give the "Hupmobile-Cord" a different face. He rounded the hood and designed a new three-piece grille, creating the Hupmobile Skylark.


The 245 cubic inch flathead six cylinder engine with 101 horsepower and a 3 speed transmission was produced by Hupmobile.

[Jagman]

Do you have a front 3/4 view too? Love to see the front end..............

[Otto Puzzell]

Here you go.

[pieter]

OUCH! That hurt. They took one of the most beautiful cars of all time and did THAT to it. No wonder it quietly diappeared.

[Tifosi]

The Cord bodies were also very difficult to produce, especially at higher volume levels.  The dies were complex...I remember reading that the roof, for example, was made from about 7 different stampings; making building the car rather labor-intensive.

Dan