To promote its new 12-cylinder cars, Pierce-Arrow hired famous race driver Ab Jenkins to drive a 1932 Model 53 Roadster that was specially prepared with the fenders and windshield removed on the salt flats of Bonneville. The first of several tests was conducted in the fall of 1932. Jenkins drove for 24 hours, with an average speed of 112.91 mph. As the tests were ultimately part of a public relations campaign, Pierce-Arrow thoroughly captured Jenkins’ efforts in a 41-minute documentary entitled Flight of the Arrow, which survives to this day and contains many amazing shots of the 12-cylinder Pierce flying across the salt.

These speed tests were repeated several times over the next few years, with Jenkins breaking his own record and finally setting a new world speed record of 127 mph over a 24-hour period in 1934. Despite the restyled bodies, the new engines, and the great publicity created by Jenkins’ efforts, Pierce-Arrow only sold 2,692 cars in 1932 and, as a result, lost millions, leading to the sale of the firm by the Studebaker Corporation.

Chassis 2050118 is one of only six of these short-wheelbase roadsters built, and it is also one of only three believed remaining. Its history goes back to the 1960s, with collector Wally Rank, who sold it to collector Al Freddendahl, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The current owner, an East Coast collector, purchased this car from Freddendahl in 1979 and held onto it for just over a decade, before selling it to his friend, Tom Welch of Ohio, in 1991. Welch then sold it back to the current owner in 1997.

Today, the car is beautifully finished in silver and black with red pinstriping. The light grey interior shows moderate wear, as does the black cloth top. The engine bay retains its correct original components, which proudly show wear to their surfaces as a result of the 50,000 miles that the owner has reliably driven during his ownership! Additionally, it is equipped with a driver’s side spotlight, aftermarket turn signals for safe touring, dual horns, a trunk rack with trunk, and auxiliary running lights.

The 1932 Pierce-Arrows continue to be one of the most attractive and popular models of the Classic Era, and this example is certainly a head above the rest, as it is a quality example of a rare body style that has a visual connection to the endurance feats of Ab Jenkins.