In the winter of 1949, Eva May Johnson, a socialite and sportswoman who lived for much of the year in the Hollywood Hills of California, traveled to New York to visit J.S. Inskip’s famed salesroom. There she met renowned racing driver and enthusiast Briggs Cunningham and began a correspondence regarding their mutual interests—specifically, Stutzes and, even more specifically, this 1929 Model M Four-Passenger Speedster, in Ms. Johnson’s California garage. Ms. Johnson had a great passion for the car and was quite knowledgeable regarding its mechanical specifications and care. Even as she considered trading it in on a new Bentley, she had turned down one prospective owner because he intended to hot-rod the Stutz.

“This has been my transportation car from 1937 to 1949,” she wrote to Cunningham, “marvelous on the highway, but requiring simpatico for traffic competitions with V-8s! Corners as well as my Bentley, and while I don’t know the proper term for it, you don’t have to wind it up to get around a corner; you just lean in a bit.”

The Johnson-Cunningham Stutz conversation continued until 1970, when the car was finally bought for the latter’s impressive collection in Costa Mesa. It was restored in a subtle combination of cream and coral and remained on exhibit in the Cunningham Museum until its closure in late 1986. During that time it was featured in Automobile Quarterly, Volume 20, Number 3, and in John Burgess’s book Connoisseur’s Choice, as well as on Cunningham Museum postcards.

The Stutz was sold with the rest of the Cunningham Collection in December 1986 to his fellow respected collector, Miles Collier. It was not retained as part of the Collier Collection and was eventually acquired by William Ruger Sr., the Connecticut gunsmith and passionate Stutz enthusiast, and restored anew in its tuxedo-inspired black and cream livery. Mr. Ruger was known for his efforts to restore cars beautifully as “runners,” with maximum performance potential unlocked from their engines. Accordingly, while this Stutz has an outwardly stock appearance and sound, the engine was rebuilt by Callaway Cars with titanium connecting rods, new 9.5:1-compression aluminum pistons, and a cylinder head reworked for improved flow.

Acquired from a California collection by the late Terence E. Adderley in 2015, this remains a delightful car to drive, which has benefited from care by some of the United States’ greatest enthusiasts.