Vintage Vibes & Vogue: Fashion Soirée at the Museum

The 1948 Tucker 48, also known as the Tucker Torpedo, was a revolutionary automobile designed by Preston Tucker, featuring innovative safety and engineering features, but the company faced financial and legal issues, leading to its demise after producing only 51 cars.   

• Design and Innovation: The Tucker 48 was known for its unique fastback design, a rear-mounted engine, and a center-mounted, rotating headlight. 
• Safety Features: It pioneered safety features like a pop-out windshield, padded dashboard, and a "safety cell" passenger compartment. 
• Engine: The car featured a 335-cubic-inch, horizontally opposed, air-cooled engine (later converted to water-cooling). 
• Production and Company Issues: Only 51 Tucker 48s were ever built, including a prototype, before the Tucker Corporation faced a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and ultimately declared bankruptcy. 
• Tucker Torpedo: The Tucker 48 was initially nicknamed the "Tucker Torpedo". 
• Pioneering Features: The Tucker 48 introduced many features that later became standard in modern cars, including four-wheel independent suspension, and a padded dashboard. 
• Francis Ford Coppola Film: The Tucker story is the subject of the 1988 film Tucker: The Man and His Dream by Francis Ford Coppola. 

Specifications:

• Engine: Horizontally opposed 6, overhead valves, 334 cubic inches.
• Transmission: 4-speed manual.
• Height: 80 inches.
• Wheelbase: 130 inches.
• Width: 64.5 inches.
• Overall length: 219 inches.
• Weight: 4235 pounds.
• Horsepower: 166 at 3200 revolutions per minute.
• Pounds per horsepower: 36.5.
• Price: $2,450.
• Top Speed: 120 MPH.
• Torque: 372 ft/lbs. @ 2000 RPM.
• Suspension: 4-wheel independent Torsilastic suspension.
• Windshield: Pop-out safety glass windshield.
• Dash and doors: Padded dash and doors. 
• Tucker 48 - Wikipedia -The Tucker 48, commonly but incorrectly referred to as the Tucker Torpedo, was an automobile conceived by Preston Tucker 

Cars on the Maine Classic Car Museum showroom floor for   

FASHION SOIRÉE :

1942 Willys Military Jeep-Dark Green 

1967 Iso Grifo GL Series 1-Maroon

1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500-Black

1957 Chrysler Super Dart 400-Yellow

1949 Ferrari 166 Interior Cabriolet-Sand Yellow 

1954 Hudson Italia-White 

1955 Porsche Continental-Turkish Red

1956 Continental Mark II-Green 

1933 Rover 14/6 Speed Pilot Sports Tourer-Silver 

1950 Allard K1/2 Two Seater-Silver

1981 DMC DeLorean-Silver 

1938 BMW 327 Cabriolet-Black and White 

1947 Delahaye 135M Cabriolet-Purple

1940 Ford Marmon Herrington AWD-Green