Excalibur 1964-1990 - Neoclassic on the trail of the SSK
Summary
There were around 10,000 car brands and designers - most of them have disappeared. One of these vanished brands is Excalibur, which built neoclassical vehicles with modern technical components between 1964 and 1990. The SSK reinterpretations are probably the best known. Excalibur repeatedly caused controversial reactions.
Estimated reading time: 3min
Preview (beginning of the article)
No other passenger car segment has triggered such controversial reactions as the Neoclassics. That was the name given to those luxurious and powerful convertibles and coupés in the style of famous models from the interwar period. Some found these apparent replicas magnificent, while others rejected them outright as a misrepresentation of the facts. The ancestor of the Neoclassic was the 1964 Excalibur SS from SS Automobiles Inc. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was modeled by designer Brooks Stevens on the Mercedes-Benz SSK, the legendary supercharged sports car from 1927. Under the Excalibur's dazzling plastic skin was the box-frame chassis of the Studebaker Daytona, and the engine was the Chevrolet Corvette V8 with a displacement of 5.4 liters and 304 hp. Studebaker had given Stevens the impetus to create this "imitation oldtimer".
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