Series T. 87 bhp, 233.7 cu. in. L-head inline eight-cylinder engine, three-speed manual transmission, solid front axle and live rear axle with rear semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel mechanical brakes. Wheelbase: 119"

- Rare example, offered for only one year

- Body by Murray

- Ex-Harrah Collection

- One of only about five or six in existence

For 1930 Hudson built a straight eight. Derived from the already refined companion make Essex Six, it was smaller in displacement and slightly less powerful than the old Super Six. However, the new Great Eight was 500 pounds lighter and thus performed better. For 1931, the engine was enlarged with a wider bore and given higher compression, the increased power validating a name upgrade to “Greater Eight.” As before, there were two wheelbases, a shorter, more nimble Series T measuring 119 inches and the longer, top-line Series U at 126.

Hudson offered boat-tailed roadsters only sporadically. In 1927 and 1929 there were Essex boat-tails, their construction attributed by historians, somewhat tentatively, to Hudson’s favorite coachbuilder, Biddle and Smart. Again in 1931 an Essex boat-tail appeared. By this time Hudson and Essex shared bodies, so a Hudson boat-tail was created, with the bodies built by Murray. It was the one and only time this style appeared on a Hudson chassis, so rare it never made the sales literature. The boat-tail shape results in a very narrow rumble seat, unique to these cars. In fact, the famed automotive designer Ray Dietrich was under the employ during this time, and it is believed the Hudson boat-tail speedster, with its convertible top design and steeply raked windshield, was among his achievements.

This car was purchased from the famous William F. Harrah Collection in the 1980s. It is an older restoration, still in presentable order. Our information shows the car going from Harrah to a Mr. Garnet Rose of Gibbon, Nebraska. From there, we understand it went to a collector in Gordonsville, Virginia, where it stayed for many years until sold by the owner’s estate to a Duesenberg collector in Meriden, Connecticut. The vehicle is reportedly entirely genuine and authentic. The body shows no signs of any damage nor any evidence of having the slightest degree of decay, either to its metal or to its original wooden structure. Although the cosmetics are somewhat older, the leather is still soft and the paint shines nicely.

The car recently had its gas tank cleaned and was properly converted back to its original vacuum tank, which had been removed many years earlier. It is reported to run and drive quite well. Further servicing and checking over, however, is recommended before any heavy use is planned.

With only about five or six examples remaining, these original boat-tail Eights are among the rarest Hudsons of all time, and this is certainly one of the prettiest, particularly in this color combination. It is a car to be seen—and to be seen in.