$2-Million Tucker 48 "Torpedo" Shows Up at Car Show, Flexes Helicopter Engine

Despite the extremely short production run and the bad rap, the Tucker 48 soldiered on as an automotive iconic. And the fact that 46 of the 51 cars survived also helped. Come 2023 and the Tucker 48 is a rare sight and, as a result, it gets a lot of attention when it pops up at car shows. What's more, while Tucker itself was never a big company, the 48 is a highly sought-after and expensive collectible.

Needless to say, the "Torpedo" is so rare that it rarely crosses the auction block, but when it does, it usually changes hands for seven-figure sums. In 2018, two examples were sold for about $1.8 million a piece. Another one found a new home for $1.98 million in 2919, while 2020 saw a low-mileage example go under the hammer for $2.04 million. But the record stands at $2.9 million and was established in 2012.

If you haven't seen a Tucker 48 in the metal yet, one of the 46 surviving examples was recently displayed at the 2023 Arizona Concours d'Elegance. Chassis no. #1015, this 48 is one of only seven cars finished in green (one of six colors available in 1948) and one of 10 equipped with a Cord 810/812 transmission.

That's right, Tucker used more than one gearbox at the time. While some cars were fitted with the Cord-sourced unit, many were equipped with a modified version of the latter called the Ypsilanti Y-1. At least one car rolled off the assembly line with the TuckerMatic, a continuously variable transmission, and another one got a Borg-Warner-based three-speed.

But all of them mated to one engine, a 334-cubic-inch (5.5-liter) flat-six. Except for the "Tin Goose" prototype, of course, which had a terrible but massive 589-cubic-inch (9.7-liter) mill. With the latter problematic and underpowered, Tucker turned to Air Cooled Motors and its Franklin O-335.

Originally intended for the Bell 47 helicopter, the unit was converted to water cooling and found its way into the Tucker 48 with heavy modifications and an output rating of 166 horsepower and 372 pound-feet (504 Nm) of torque. Okay, it wasn't much of a helicopter engine after Tucker engineers were done with it, but you get the gist.

The "Torpedo" you see here is one of the finest survivors out there. In a private collection since 2008, the 48 is in museum-grade shape inside and out. Not only the green paint shines like new, but the interior is flawless, and the rear-mounted engine runs smoothly. It's definitely one of those cars that would change hands for more than $2 million at auction.

The footage below also gives us a closer look at some of the car's innovative features, including the directional headlamp mounted on the nose, the padded dashboard, and the way all instruments and controls were grouped around the steering wheel. Sure, these features might not be a big deal nowadays, but they were quite innovative at the time.

The Tucker also featured a roll bar integrated into the roof, a perimeter frame, which Hudson also adopted in 1948, and a windshield that was designed to pop out in the event of a crash. It's a truly fascinating car with an impressive survival rate.