Tucker '48
| Tucker | |
|---|---|
 Tucker '48
|
|
| '48 | |
| Production period: | 1947-1948 |
| Class : | upper middle class |
| Body versions : | limousine |
| Engines: |
Otto engine : 5.5 liters (123 kW) |
| Length: | 5563 mm |
| Width: | 2007 mm |
| Height: | 1524 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 3302 mm |
| Empty weight : | 1921 kg |
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The 1948 Tucker '48 was the only model made by the US automobile manufacturer Tucker Corporation . Officially it was named after the year of construction. The name Tucker Torpedo accompanied the advertising of the car; in fact, a car never left the factory under this name.
description
The '48 Tucker was the life's work of Preston Tucker , who designed and built this vehicle himself. The designer Alex Tremulis designed the vehicle within six days; Ray Dietrich was later involved in solving detailed questions.
The model was one of the most advanced passenger cars of the time and in many respects ahead of its time. So also recruited the producer of it as the car of tomorrow (Car of Tomorrow) called. He already had seat belts , a windshield that fell outward in the event of an impact and therefore posed no danger to the occupants, as well as cornering lights through a third headlight in the middle of the front of the vehicle, the so-called " Cyclops eye " , which followed the steering angle of the front wheels . It was also equipped with front and rear disc brakes and impact protection on the steering wheel and dashboard. With a six - cylinder boxer engine with 5.5 liters displacement and an output of 123 kW as well as a C w value of 0.27, which was excellent at the time and is still good today , the vehicle was powerfully motorized and very fast for its time. The engine was located in the stern.
With a wheelbase of 3302 mm, the vehicle was 5563 mm long, 2007 mm wide and 1524 mm high. The curb weight was given as 1921 kg - so it was relatively heavy.
number of pieces
Between January 1947 and July 1948, in addition to the prototype - named by Preston Tucker "Tin Goose" (tin goose) - another 50 vehicles were built. Of the total of 51 automobiles, 47 still exist today. A 52nd car is not counted among the original vehicles because - although it was built from original parts - it was not completed until the end of the 1980s.
Trivia
The car and the biography of Preston Tucker form the basis for Francis Ford Coppola's film Tucker - A Man and His Dream Car from the Lucasfilm studio.
The vehicles are very sought-after and expensive collector's items. In August 2008, No. 1038 was auctioned and reached an unexpectedly high price of over one million US dollars.
In Stephen King's book In A Small Town , the villain owns a Tucker talisman, which he claims only two were ever made.
A Tucker plays a major role in the story Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For by Frank Miller .
literature
- Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , Chapter Tucker (II).
- George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 3: P – Z. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 1626-1627. (English)
- Jörg Reichle: Too modern for the post-war period. Tucker's dream . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . March 18, 2013 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed March 19, 2013]).
Web links
- Tucker Automobile Club of America (English)
- Tucker '48 data sheet ( Memento from April 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ About the correct name and further details (English, accessed December 24, 2016)
- ↑ Short biography of Tremulis (English) ( Memento from December 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Features of the Tucker '48 (accessed December 24, 2016)
- ↑ Presentation of the prototype and the other 50 Tucker '48 (English) ( Memento from February 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The "unofficial" Tucker No. 1051 (English) ( Memento from December 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Tucker auction 2008 ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. with pictures of the engine and interior. (English, accessed December 24, 2016)
