THE STUTZ DV-32

Unlike its larger competition, Indianapolis automaker Stutz could ill-afford to develop a new V-12 or V-16 engine. Their response to those multi-cylinder mills was the DV-32, based upon the former 322-cubic-inch BB engine, reworked masterfully by Charles “Pop” Greuter with double overhead camshafts and angled valves above hemispherical combustion chambers. This arrangement provided four valves per cylinder, 32 in total, or “Dual Valve-32”—hence the name. The upgraded engine produced some 125 horsepower, roughly the same horsepower-per-cubic-inch ratio of the Duesenberg Model J, delivered through a Warner four-speed transmission. Even with heavy bodywork on a long chassis, a DV-32 was swift and flexible, capable of 80 mph.

Only about 200 examples of the DV-32 were produced before Stutz faded into oblivion during 1935. Just a token few of these were mounted with custom coachwork, and these cars have become, on the basis of their power and beauty, the most desirable of all Stutz automobiles—a glorious final effort by “The Car That Made Good In a Day.”

A MAGNIFICENT CONVERTIBLE VICTORIA

The DV-32 offered here was custom-bodied by the renowned Rollston of New York City, noted for their remarkable versality of design and outstanding build quality on all the great chassis of the Classic Era. Rollston was well-known for their handsome convertible victoria, an ordinarily quite formal design, and built several examples of this style on the DV-32. This particular car, however, was one of just two delivered to versions of a special design, with a steeply raked windshield that gives it an entirely different personality. The angled glass lowers the roof and visually lengthens the car, resulting in a truly impressive appearance. These features combine with Rollston’s signature doors, extended down to cover the frame rails, and the 1933 DV-32’s unique faired-in fender lights and more attractive, unified dashboard arrangement to create one of the most beautiful DV-32s—in fact, one of the most beautiful of all Stutzes.

The car is likely to have been delivered to one of Rollston’s local customers in the metropolitan New York City area. Its further history is known back to 1952, when it was acquired by the early enthusiast and historian, Carl Pennrich of Greenwood Lake, New York. Mr. Pennrich was an early member and director of the Classic Car Club of America, and featured his own car as one of the illustrations for his article on Stutz in the Spring 1954 issue of The Classic Car. In 1960, Pennrich sold his Stutz to the famed Harrah’s Automobile Collection, where it would remain on exhibit as a largely complete and original car for over a quarter-century. During that time, it was featured as a two-page spread to illustrate D. Cameron Peck’s article on Stutz in Automobile Quarterly, Volume 2, Number 1.

The Stutz was sold from Harrah’s in 1986 and found its way into the hands of noted collector, Richard Scott, who got it into running and driving condition. Several years later it passed through the hands of respected enthusiasts, Joseph and Margie Cassini and David Kane, and was then purchased by the late Andy Simo of Illinois. A self-made businessman and passionate Stutz enthusiast, well-remembered by his many friends for his warm and generous personality, Mr. Simo elected to have the car exquisitely restored, in what are believed to have been the original colors of Sierra Sandstone and Antique Veridian Green. Following its restoration, the Stutz was a class award-winner at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2006, followed by Best in Class at Amelia Island and Best of Show at the Glenmoor Gathering in 2007, and Best in Class at the Meadowbrook Concours in 2009.

In March 2013, the car became one of the several outstanding DV-32s in the Terence E. Adderley collection. Its restoration has been well-preserved during its decade in the collection, and remains in excellent overall condition. Significantly, it retains its original Rollston body number plate on the sill, and it is accompanied by “The Safety Stutz” brochures and a small file of documentation.

A truly splendid Stutz, of exceptional design and extraordinary beauty, this car is in the first rank of American Full Classics. It is a DV-32 for which no excuses need be made.