By 1931, dwindling sales of Ford’s Model A prompted many to write off Henry Ford’s car company as being unable to keep up with the times. However, Ford had an ace up his sleeve with the revolutionary V-8 model line, which he developed in secret and introduced on 31 March 1932.

Henry Ford’s insistence on a low-priced V-8 engine, against the four- and six-cylinder competition, was a stroke of engineering and marketing genius. The flathead powered most Ford cars and trucks until its replacement by an overhead-valve V-8 in 1954, but aesthetics were not ignored. The new models featured rounded corners, a slanted windscreen, and a perfectly proportioned radiator shell. Nearly 300,000 of these “baby Lincolns” were sold in 1932, and the DeLuxe Roadster remains a favorite today, although only a small number of the original 6,893 units built have survived in their original form.

The car offered here, from the Richard L. Burdick Collection, is an older and much-enjoyed restoration in maroon and black, with red wire wheels shod in whitewall tires. It retains its original “Henry Ford” sheet metal, with a handsome wood-grained dashboard and fully restored top with chrome irons, as well as a rear-mounted spare. The upholstery is still largely tight and beautiful, particularly in the rumble seat. This would be an ideal V-8 roadster for driving and enjoying, adding to the 32,087 miles that had been recorded at the time of cataloguing.