Warbirds and Wheels Museum

Hispano-Suiza

Posted by Ed Taylor on 21 September 2014

Visitors to the Warbirds and Wheels attraction at Wanaka Airport have a limited opportunity to compare two of the world’s most beautiful cars from the 1930s side by side.

The best American car from that period was the Duesenberg Model J which has been on display at Warbirds and Wheels for some time now. It is being joined by a rare Hispano Suiza J12 – arguably the best European car of its time.

Warbirds & Wheels marketing manager Ed Taylor says visitors can compare the two cars side by side to make their own minds up as to who made the best car – the Americans or the Europeans.

“We are very fortunate to have the Hispano available for a limited time to join the world-class car collection at Warbirds and Wheels,” said Ed.  We already have people coming from all over New Zealand and even Australia just to see the Duesenberg, so we’re expecting lots of interest in the Hispano as well, said Ed.

A lot of the value in these old cars is in the provenance, or history, of the specific vehicles.  “The 1934 Duesenberg we have on display was first owned by Hollywood star Carole Lombard who was married to Clark Gable of ‘Gone with the Wind’ fame who was also a big Duesey fan,” said Ed.  Clark Gable’s original Duesenberg was recently passed in at auction for $US6.4 million so you can see the sort of value there is in these cars.

The Hispano Suiza, which goes on display at Warbirds and Wheels from this Friday September 19, was first shown to the world at the 1931 Paris Motorshow. It was subsequently owned by the Shah of Persia (Iran) giving it great provenance.  The car then passed into the hands of an American collector in the 1960’s before being brought to New Zealand by Roy Southward in the late 1980’s for his personal collection. The car was purchased by its current owners, who wish to remain anonymous, in 2011.

Restoration of the vehicle was started by Roy Southward and has been completed by Bristol Restorations in Wellington on behalf of the current owners.

The vehicle is very rare. According to the Mullin Automotive Museum in the US there are only nine open top Hispano Suiza J12s left in the world today.  The car has just 44,000 kilometres on the clock, around half of which has been touring around New Zealand over the last three years. The car has travelled from Cape Reinga to Bluff and been over every mountain pass in the South Island. 

The owners are keen to share the car at events, as well as continuing to tour around the country rather than permanently consigning it to a private collection or museum, making its stay at Warbirds and Wheels a rare opportunity for the public.  The car will be on display alongside the Duesenberg at Warbirds and Wheels for just eight weeks from Friday, September 19.

Additional information about Hispano Suiza and the J12.

* As the name implies, Hispano-Suiza was a cosmopolitan marque, with Swiss and Spanish origins and a parallel manufacturing base in France.

*The Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt had designed the Barcelona-built Castro, which became the basis for the first Hispano-Suiza of 1904.

* Over the years, Birkigt developed a strong reputation for building everything from T-head fours, overhead-cam engines, a water-cooled V8 and also the innovative H6, which was described by British historian T.R. Nicholson as the last word in advanced transport for the rich.

* The achievement of Hispano-Suiza peaked in 1931 by introducing the largest most powerful and most expansive in its history, the J12 or type 68.

* This was Hispano’s version of the Bugatti Royale and cost more than double that of a Rolls-Royce Phantom III – the most expensive British car at the time.

* It was powered by Marc Birkigt’s latest V12 engine (Birkigt had designed V12 aviation engines and used that experience in the J12). Like the old straight-6, it had a lightweight aluminium block and head.

* Road tests at the time of its launch reported the J12 had “excellent power and torque, a quiet ride, great roadholding, outstanding braking along with light and precise steering”. It also topped 100mph and could get from 0-60 in just 12 seconds.

For more information and images of the Hispano Suiza and/or Duesenberg please contact Ed Taylor - or phone .