Excalibur Series II Roadster SS in Paris

The Excalibur automobile was a car styled after the 1928

Mercedes-Benz SSK The Mercedes-Benz SSK (W06) is a roadster built by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz between 1928 and 1932. The name is an abbreviation of ''Super Sport Kurz'', German for "Super Sport Short", as it was a short wheelbase development o ...

Brooks Stevens Clifford Brooks Stevens (June 7, 1911 – January 4, 1995) was an American industrial designer of home furnishings, appliances, automobiles, and motorcycles, as well as a graphic designer and stylist. Stevens founded Brooks Stevens, Inc., headq ...

for

Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...

. Stevens subsequently formed a company to manufacture and market the cars, which were a standard Studebaker car with special bodywork (and soon got an upgraded engine as well). A prototype premiered at car shows in 1963, fitted on a

Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk The Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk (or GT Hawk) was a grand touring coupe sold by Studebaker motors between 1962 and 1964. The top of the Studebaker line, it was the final development of the Hawk series that began with the Golden Hawk in 1956. ...

chassis and using a Studebaker 289 V-8. Studebaker ceased engine production in December 1963 and transitioned all manufacturing to its Hamilton, Ontario plant, ending the availability of that engine. Stevens subsequently obtained engines from

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

through his friends GM executives Ed Cole and

Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen Semon Emil "Bunkie" Knudsen (October 2, 1912 – July 6, 1998) was an American automobile executive. Early life Semon Emil Knudsen was born on October 2, 1912 in Buffalo, New York. He was the son of former General Motors President, and Army th ...

. These were Chevrolet 327s in

Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

tune, making the Excalibur a strong performer. With the standard 3.31:1 rear axle, acceleration from took less than six seconds. Projected top speed was . Over 3,500 Excalibur cars were built, all in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

. The American comedian

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and ...

was a notable proponent of the Excalibur automobile, and owned four of them. The company failed in 1986 but was revived several times. Production of the Excalibur continued until 1990. Excalibur SS (4633350948).jpg, 1960s SS 1984 Excalibur Series IV Phaeton (5409795985).jpg, 1980s Phaeton NeoClassicExcalibur.jpg, 1980s SS

References

External links

Site d'information sur l'automobile Excalibur
(France) Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Wisconsin Retro-style automobiles {{Classicpow-auto-stub

See also

References

External links