1941 Hupmobile Skylark

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Auburn, Indiana | May 29-June 1, 2019

A very small percentage of American automobile manufacturers made it to the outbreak of WWII. Two such struggling companies were Hupmobile and Graham-Paige. Hupmobile had acquired the rights to the “coffin-nose” Cord 810/812 design but didn’t have any money to start building them. So they teamed up with Graham-Paige and offered them a deal: build us a slightly-altered version of the Cord, and we’ll let you use the design too.

So that’s what happened. The Graham Hollywood and Hupmobile Skylark debuted in 1940. The Skylark received a 101 horsepower, 4.0-liter straight-six. Changes from the Cord included a shift to rear-wheel drive, conventional headlights, and a less coffin-like hood.

Production lasted into 1941, but production delays meant canceled orders. Only 319 examples of the Skylark were sold before the company went out of business. Graham had only slightly better luck. Very rare today, this is the ultimate iteration of Gordon Buehrig‘s design. It should sell for between $30,000-$35,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $15,400.