The Tucker Corporation operated for a little over a year on the American auto market, but it still left an indelible mark: the Tucker 48, named after its model year, which Preston Tucker himself imagined as “the car of tomorrow.”
It never became that, but it is now a collector’s item. Only 51 Tuckers rolled off the assembly line before the company went out of business. Urban legend has it that the Big Three (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) joined forces with a senator to push Tucker Corporation out of business through negative media, an SEC investigation and a stock fraud trial.
Had it not been for that, the Tucker may have been on its way to become the “car of tomorrow” it was imagined as. A low-profile sedan with aerodynamic curves, it introduced many novel elements in safety, including locking parking brake handle to prevent theft, pop-out, shatterproof windshield panels, and a front crash compartment below a padded dash.
All this to say that, when a Tucker 48 pops up, it’s bound to cause a stir. And one is about to hit the auction block early next year, when Gooding & Company will sell one as part of its Scottsdale 2020 sale. It’s in immaculate condition and is one of the 12 Tuckers to have been painted in azure blue, Waltz Blue, believed to have been Tucker’s wife’s favorite color.
Chassis no. 1034 is, according to the seller, one of the “finest surviving Tuckers” and has the documentation to attest it. It was kept in excellent condition all these years, has only 6,200 miles on the odometer, “retains its original interior upholstery, and has never required a comprehensive restoration.”
The auction will be held on January 17 and 18, and estimates say that this Tucker will fetch between $1.75 and $2.5 million.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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