1948 Tucker 48
Only 51 examples emerged from a former B-29 bomber plant in Chicago before financial and regulatory pressures ended production. Preston Tucker hired designer Alex Tremulis from Auburn-Cord to finalize the styling, completing the drawings in just five days for advertisements that appeared in March 1947.
The revolutionary design originally called for a rear-mounted Miller engine, all-independent suspension, and disc brakes, though production realities forced significant compromises. Many of the advanced ideas survived in altered form, even as cost and time pressures mounted.
The final specification used an air-cooled 334-cubic-inch flat-six adapted from Franklin-derived helicopter powerplants built by Air Cooled Motors.
Tucker’s Ypsilanti Tool and Die operation modified Cord 810/812 four-speed transaxles with strengthened gears to handle the increased torque, creating the Y-1 transmission. Limited supplies meant some cars reportedly received less extensively modified Cord units.
Originally marketed as the “Torpedo on Wheels” following 1946 Science Digest sketches, Tucker changed the name to Tucker 48 to avoid military associations.
A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation effectively halted production, and although Tucker and his executives were acquitted of all fraud charges in January 1950, the company had already collapsed, leaving the 51 completed cars as the sole legacy of Tucker’s ambitious vision.
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