Photo: collage edited by autoevolution
Way before Tesla brought out the Cyrbertruck, stainless steel body panels on vehicles were seen as the most high-tech materials you can dress a car in.
No, we’re not talking necessarily about the DMc DeLorean, but about a marketing project back in the 1930s until the late 1960s, which saw the Ford Motor company collaborate with Allegheny Metal Co. (now ATI) on a number of exquisite-looking stainless steel-bodied vehicles.
Back in April we told you about three of such vehicles that were preparing to go on auction with no reserve as a single consignment, in an auction called the ‘Historic Stainless Steel Trifecta.’
Well, the auction took place this weekend and the $950,000 auction price might seem like a bargain for whomever had the winning bid.
“We are really pleased that these unique vehicles are in the hands of an experienced collector who will maintain them well into the future,” ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said after the auction. “As you know, ATI is not in the business of maintaining classic automobiles, and their value was deteriorating in our possession.”
The trio comprises a 1936 Ford Tudor Deluxe Touring Sedan, a 1960 Ford Thunderbird and a 1967 Lincoln Continental, each of them rare cars in their own right, but made even rarer by the unpainted stainless steel bodies that they’re sporting.
The Ford Tudor is one of six cars bodied by Allegheny Ludlum for Ford Motor Company as a technology demonstrator of stainless steels’ durability back in the 1930s and one of only four such examples to remain in existence today.
Much rarer is the 1960 Ford Thunderbird, since it’s only one of two and it also represents the very first automotive application of stainless steel for exhaust systems.
The gorgeous 1967 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible is one of just three such examples and it was hand-assembled in a special are of Ford Motor company’s Wixom facilities in Michigan.
Considering their historical significance and the fact that the trio was sold together with no reserve, let’s just say that whoever bought them got a pretty sweet deal according to some.
Back in April we told you about three of such vehicles that were preparing to go on auction with no reserve as a single consignment, in an auction called the ‘Historic Stainless Steel Trifecta.’
Well, the auction took place this weekend and the $950,000 auction price might seem like a bargain for whomever had the winning bid.
“We are really pleased that these unique vehicles are in the hands of an experienced collector who will maintain them well into the future,” ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said after the auction. “As you know, ATI is not in the business of maintaining classic automobiles, and their value was deteriorating in our possession.”
The trio comprises a 1936 Ford Tudor Deluxe Touring Sedan, a 1960 Ford Thunderbird and a 1967 Lincoln Continental, each of them rare cars in their own right, but made even rarer by the unpainted stainless steel bodies that they’re sporting.
The Ford Tudor is one of six cars bodied by Allegheny Ludlum for Ford Motor Company as a technology demonstrator of stainless steels’ durability back in the 1930s and one of only four such examples to remain in existence today.
Much rarer is the 1960 Ford Thunderbird, since it’s only one of two and it also represents the very first automotive application of stainless steel for exhaust systems.
The gorgeous 1967 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible is one of just three such examples and it was hand-assembled in a special are of Ford Motor company’s Wixom facilities in Michigan.
Considering their historical significance and the fact that the trio was sold together with no reserve, let’s just say that whoever bought them got a pretty sweet deal according to some.
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