After World War II, Nash, like many American automakers, faced a double-edged sword. The market for new automobiles was roaring and unlike any ever before, but at the same time, competition was absolutely brutal. Virtually every automaker was returning to post-war production with its warmed-over 1942 design. Nash required something new and different, that may not, necessarily, sell in large quantities, but would serve as a “draw” for showrooms.

That car was the Ambassador Suburban, a four-door fastback sedan with handsome “woodie” bodywork, in the fashion of the Chrysler Town and Country. By far the costliest Nash product, it was always extraordinarily rare. Estimates are that, in three years of production, fewer than 1,000 were produced, with the most scarce being the 1948 model, of which just 130 were made. Of the entire Suburban run, about a dozen survivors remain in existence worldwide.

The Suburban offered here is finished in the year-correct color of Strato Blue over a handsome red leather interior, with fully restored mahogany bodywork, accessory rear window wiper and fog lights, Zenith radio, and Weather Eye ventilation. The transmission features Synchro-shift and Automatic Cruising Gear, or overdrive. According to a former owner, the car has a known history back to the 1970s, and won numerous honors, including the AACA President’s Cup, while in the ownership of Jim Fritts. It is an award-winning, beautifully presented example, and one of the finest of its kind to be offered in recent years.