Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
14th June, 2023 13:00
1939 Hupmobile Senior Six Series E Sedan
Estimate
£10, 000 - £12, 000
Registration No: Unregistered
Chassis No: E72049
MOT: Exempt
Reportedly resided in a museum in California for 40 years
In current ownership for the last 7 years
Offered from a private collection
The 1930s was a decade of huge change in automotive design, more so than any that have followed. Cars went from upright, spindly, 1920s carriages to appearing full-bodied and streamlined, in the period style. One of the most underrated, yet distinctive, American automakers of this decade was the venerable Hupp Motor Car Corporation, and its final full-blooded Hupmobiles of 1938 and 1939 presented a brave and attractive face to the world.
The Great Depression had seriously depressed Hupp sales, and economic troubles, allied with the company's internal leadership struggles, forced a stop in Hupmobile production in January 1936. In early 1937, a new Hupmobile was on the drawing boards, with 1938 models announced that summer; they represented a more conservative take on the brand's recent avant-garde style. Another economic downturn that coincided with the restart of production in late 1937 proved terrible timing, and the 1938 and 1939 "Senior" Hupmobiles--six-passenger, four-door sedans with six- and eight-cylinder engines and 122- and 125-inch wheelbases, of which fewer than 4, 000 were built--would represent the automaker's last in-house-designed offerings.
One of the more recent acquisitions in the collection, this particular example was acquired by the vendor in 2016 from a private individual located in California. The car had reportedly resided in a museum for the better part of 40 years prior to its purchase. Registered in the UK in December, 2017, ‘XVV 560’ would shortly after its arrival be subject to a brake overhaul and go on to be used for a small number of local events along with the other vehicles in a small collection of American cars. Due to ill-health, the vehicle is now reluctantly offered for sale and is accompanied with the current V5C document which displays zero previous keepers.
