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The revolutionary Tucker 48 - a topic of conversation and movie material to this day

Name: Tucker 48 1948
Brand: Tucker

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Created on June 15, 2012

Text:

Stefan Fritschi

Photos:

Patrick Ernzen - Courtesy RM Auctions

Darin Schnabel / RM Auctions 2010

Archiv

Patrick Ernzen - Courtesy RM Auctions

Darin Schnabel / RM Auctions 2010

Archiv

Tucker 48 (1948) - under the hammer as lot 140 at the RM Auction in Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Tucker 48 (1948) - sold at the Monterey RM Auction in 2010 for USD 1,127,500

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Tucker Cyclops (1948) - the elegant limousine with the three-eyed face

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Preston Tucker, the man behind the revolutionary Tucker 48

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Tucker Torpedo (1946) - retouched photo of the first prototype

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Tucker (1948) - a glossed-over presentation of the Tucker in the 1948 sales brochure

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Tucker (1948) - elegant silhouette for a car of the forties

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Tucker (1948) - good to see, the unusual center headlight

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Tucker (1948) - the engine was in the rear

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Tucker (1948) - the factory facilities and production halls

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Tucker (1948) - the Assembly Line - picture in the Tucker Toipcs from March 1948

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Tucker (1948) - Body parts are ready in the Pilot factory - from the Tucker Topics of March 1948

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Tucker (1948) - the film by Francis Ford Coppola with Jeff Bridges in the role of Preston Tucker, proudly presenting Tucker

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Tucker (1948) - in the film by Francis Ford Coppola, Jeff Bridges alias Preston Tucker shows the Tucker vehicles he built

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Tucker (1948) - scene from the movie by Francis Ford Coppola - the new car is announced

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Tucker (1948) - the movie by Francis Ford Coppola - Jeff Bridges plays Preston Tucker

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Tucker (1948) - the film by Francis Ford Coppola - Jeff Bridges in the role of Preston Tucker

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Tucker (1948) - in Francis Ford Coppola's film, Jeff Bridges alias Preston Tucker has just bought a factory

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Tucker 48 (1948) - in der RM Auction von Monterey im Jahr 2010 für USD 1'127'500 verkauft

Summary

The Tucker 48 (also known as the "Torpedo") was a very progressive car and the vision of a few men, which unfortunately had to fail: the car was too complex, the team too inexperienced, the capital too thin, the manufacturer's name without tradition. This report traces the history of Tucker vehicles, illustrated and documented with historical images, advertising material and press releases, some of which have never been published before.

This article contains the following chapters

Preston Thomas Tucker...
Hardly any new cars after the Second World War
Tucker 48 or Tucker Torpedo?
"The car of tomorrow - today"
All-round safety frame
Dedicated 589 cu in engine with direct injection only for the "Tin Goose"
Production car with helicopter engine
Cord, Borg-Warner or Tuckermatic transmission?
Problematic presentation of the prototype
Slimmed-down production car with fewer innovations
Problems with the factory building and raw materials
Clumsy financial management startles the authorities
Shortcomings of the prototype in public
Could Tucker have succeeded? A view without rose-colored glasses
Tucker collectors and fans gather evidence
"Tucker - The Man and his Dream": fiction or reality?
51 authenticated Tucker vehicles
Six colors for 51 vehicles
The vehicles known today
Preston Tucker only survived his life's work for a short time
Further information

Estimated reading time: 19min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Tucker 48 (also known as the "Torpedo") was a very progressive car and the vision of a few men, which unfortunately had to fail: the car was too complex, the team too inexperienced, the capital base too thin, the manufacturer's name without tradition. A process that occurs more frequently in industrial history. The 1988 film "Tucker - the Man and his Dream" by Francis Ford Coppola turned it into a touching story that brought Tucker back to fame as a brand and a person. Since then, Tucker has been seen as an example of the American dream and at the same time as a synonym for the American nightmare, when the public, media, politics and seemingly unfair competitors suddenly turn against the flourishing company.

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