Chassis DV-PC-1294

• Believed to be the first Rollston Convertible Victoria built on the DV-32 chassis
• Rare Rollston design No. 159, one of just six Convertible Victorias produced
• 156-horsepower double-overhead-cam DV-32 straight-eight
• Complete frame-off restoration by Richard Mitchell’s Old Iron Works, finished in 2013
• Best of Show at Keels & Wheels and Louisville, plus Best in Class at Amelia Island

Among the great American coachbuilders of the Classic Era, Rollston of New York occupied a place of particular distinction. For three decades, the firm produced some of the finest bespoke bodies available to America’s most discerning motorists, ranging from sporting roadsters to imposing formal cars, all executed with the exceptional craftsmanship for which the company became known.

One of Rollston’s most elegant designs was its Convertible Victoria, design number 159, drawn on December 30, 1930. The style had European roots but found particular favor in America, where firms such as Waterhouse and later Rollston refined the concept into a uniquely graceful open body. Its defining feature was a formal folding top without rear quarter windows, giving rear-seat passengers a more sheltered environment when raised. Lowered, the top disappeared neatly into a recessed well behind the doors, leaving a remarkably clean beltline and emphasizing the body’s long, uninterrupted profile. A lowered windscreen and generous doors further accentuated the design’s length and sporting elegance.

According to correspondence from Rollston heir Bill Creteur, only six Convertible Victorias of this design were built. This example, body number 507-A, is believed to have been the first Rollston body constructed on the ultimate Stutz DV-32 chassis.

The DV-32 represented the final and most developed expression of the Stutz straight-eight. Its double overhead camshaft engine featured hemispherical combustion chambers and produced 156 horsepower, giving the large Stutz both impressive performance and a level of mechanical sophistication worthy of its custom coachwork.

Remarkably, the Rollston build sheet for this car survives, recording the original specification as Pyramid Gray. This was later changed before delivery to an all-black finish with silver striping, the combination shown in period Rollston photographs taken in New York City’s Central Park. The interior was specified in Eagle Ottawa Persian Morocco leather, with the hardware throughout finished in chrome.

Once completed, the Stutz was shipped to Toronto, Ontario, where V&S Motors sold it to prominent businessman John Paris Bickell. Bickell enjoyed a notable career in international commerce and politics and later served as one of the “dollar-a-year” executives involved in wartime administration during World War II. He is believed to have retained the Stutz until his death in 1951.

The car then passed to Samuel Foote, a professor at the University of Toronto and an early collector, who reportedly used the Stutz as his summer automobile while relying on a Cadillac V-16 limousine during the winter months. Foote retained the car until 1962, when it was acquired by Gary Campbell of Stoney Creek, Ontario. A member of the Classic Car Club of America, Campbell listed the car in the club register and drove it on the 1962 CCCA CARavan to Montreal.

Around 1968, the Stutz passed to noted collector Dr. Donald Vesley, later of New Orleans and Ocala, Florida. Approximately a decade later it was acquired by Stan Staniszewski of Troy, Michigan, who began a restoration that would progress intermittently over the following three decades.

Staniszewski’s research into the car proved especially valuable. He traced its ownership history, contacted the Creteur family, and secured the Rollston build sheet and correspondence that remain with the car today. In late 2010, he sold the Stutz to noted marque authority Richard Mitchell.

Mitchell’s Old Iron Works in Montgomery, Texas, then undertook the restoration anew, bringing the car to modern concours standards. Completed in 2013, the work was described as a complete frame-off restoration from top to bottom and made extensive use of the original components and trim that had remained with the Stutz throughout its life. The car was returned to the black with tan stripes, a tremendously handsome color scheme.

The quality of the restoration was quickly recognized. In 2013 alone, the Stutz earned Best of Show honors at Keels & Wheels and the Louisville Concours d’Elegance, Best in Class at Amelia Island, and Chairman’s Choice at the Milwaukee Masterpiece.

Beyond its concours credentials, the car also retains the road manners that make the finest Stutz automobiles so rewarding to use. Richard Mitchell described it as light in the steering, soft and comfortable in suspension, and thoroughly pleasant to drive, qualities that speak to the sophistication of the DV-32 chassis beneath the formal Rollston body.

Today, this Stutz stands as an unusually complete expression of American Classic Era craftsmanship. It combines one of Rollston’s most graceful open designs with the most advanced Stutz chassis, a documented chain of ownership extending back to its original buyer, exceptional surviving factory records, and a concours restoration carried out under the supervision of one of the marque’s foremost modern authorities.

With its known history, rare coachwork, distinguished show record, and outstanding restoration, this DV-32 Convertible Victoria represents the kind of automobile in which design, engineering, provenance, and preservation all come together with uncommon clarity.

Offers welcome and trades considered.

Please note this Stutz is titled by its motor number, DV-33007.

$1,100,000

Stock number 8202