One Offs: The Stutz Blackhawk

The Blackhawk, carries the legendary brand name of the early 1900s manufacturer: Stutz Motor Company, but it’s more of a concoction than an “official Stutz.” The Stutz Motor Company ran its production line in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1911 until 1935. They are best known as “America’s first sports car” and even set a land speed record of 160.1 mph in 1928.

The body styling for the Blackhawk was prototyped by Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin, Italy in 1970, and sold to GM with the intention of being placed on a G-body chassis (i.e. the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Grand National, Regal, Cutlass and others). #badgeengineering. This reborn company was brought back to life by a partnership between James O’Donnell (a New York banker) and Virgil Exner (auto designer who had worked with Studebaker and Chrysler). Exner who helped design the Blackhawk, passed away 2 years after the launch of the Blackhawk in 1971.

Assembly of the Blackhawk was actually performed in Modena and Torino, Italy from 1971 to 1987 using the Pontiac Grand Prix as its parts bin, later borrowing from the Bonneville, Delta 88 and LeSabre models. The Blackhawk was offered with a variety of engines, not all of them GM, including: the Ford 302, 351 Windsor, 429 Cobra Jet, or 460 Big Block or you could select from: the 307 Oldsmobile, 350 Small Block, Pontiac 6.6 liter 400, the Big Block 454, Pontiac 455, Cadillac 425, 472, or 500 and more. #toomanyoptions. Being hand-built meant that total time to complete a Blackhawk would require about 1,500 labor hours. Imagining how to make all those different parts and configurations interchangeable in a G-body is quite the challenge. That being said, less than 600 Blackhawks were completed. 

Unlike the original Stutz’s, the reincarnated Stutz Blackhawk was by no means a sports car but was intended to be a high-end luxury car. Although the Blackhawk shared parts from many other manufacturers it had some key things that made it stand out including: freestanding headlights, side exit exhaust, and a spare tire protruding through the trunk lid. Inside it had: leather seats, gold plated trim, bird’s eye or burled wood trim. Uncommon features for the era included in the Blackhawk build were items like: central locking, bi-level automatic air conditioning, burglar alarm, twilight sensing automatic headlight controls, cruise control and even 17 inch run-flat tires. Passengers also enjoyed the cigar (not cigarette) lighter, built-in liquor cabinet and quadraphonic sound system, similar to what you would find on a Lear Jet! – This car definitely made a statement for the elite few who could afford to own them.

The MSRP of a Blackhawk reached as much as $84,500 with options and many celebrities owned them. Elvis Presley purchased the first one made available to the public for $26,500 on October 9th, 1970. Frank Sinatra wanted that same car but refused to allow it to be shown at the L.A. Auto Show or take publicity photos with it like Elvis who agreed to those terms in order to get the first purchase. Other celebrities you might have heard of that owned one or more Blackhawks would include: Lucille Ball, Dick Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lewis, Willie Nelson, Isaac Hayes, Erik Estrada, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman,  Barry White, Al Pacino, Billy Joel, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, and Elton John. Ownership is easily verifiable because all Blackhawks included a dash plaque with its original owners name on it! #johnvoightslebaron.

It is said that the Shah of Iran owned 12 Blackhawks!  With such celebrity and notoriety, the Blackhawk was now famous. Famous enough to make its way onto the big screen… code named “Karen” in the original “Gone in 60 Seconds” (1974) movie. Another Blackhawk appeared in the movie “8MM” (1999) starring James Gandolfini. Another Blackhawk was used in the 2004 film “Never Die Alone” where DMX’s character is driving a Blackhawk prior to his untimely death. The Blackhawk played lesser roles in episodes of Columbo, and its “likeness” was used in the anime series Dragonball GT. The most recent appearance of a Blackhawk was just this year (2019) in the Netflix biopic “The Dirt” which tells the story of Motley Crue, and driven by the Nikki Sixx.

I have never seen one of these cars in person but the times I have seen them on screen I always wondered what they were. After all my research, I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or surprised to find that it wasn’t a modified car, kit car, or hot-rod-custom but designed using many existing parts that were available at that time. I can respect the Blackhawk, in a way its a symbol of America, it’s a melting-pot, and very fitting of our culture and the luxury of its era. #murica. Despite its initial backing and celebrity appeal, I think we all knew it was destined not to last, but I applaud the effort just the same.

Until the next time, #neverstoplearning.