Excalibur (automobile)

thumb|1965 Excalibur SSK (Series I); the second chassis built

The Excalibur automobile is a car styled after the 1928 Mercedes-Benz SSK by Brooks Stevens for Studebaker. Stevens subsequently formed a company to manufacture and market the cars, which were a standard Studebaker chassis with special bodywork (and soon got an upgraded engine as well). The Excalibur has a Neoclassic design, a term used to designate automobiles produced in the 1960s–1990s in the style of cars of the 1920s and 1930s. Zimmer and Tiffany are two additional examples of Neoclassic design.

History

A prototype premiered at car shows in 1963, fitted on a Studebaker Lark Convertible chassis and using a Studebaker 289 V-8. Studebaker ceased engine production in December 1963 and consolidating all manufacturing to its Hamilton, Ontario, plant, ending the availability of that engine.

Stevens subsequently obtained engines from General Motors through his friends GM executives Ed Cole and Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen. Over 3,500 Excalibur cars were built, all in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The company failed in 1986 but was revived several times. Series production of the Excalibur continued until 1990, with a few false starts taking place under new owners afterwards. The final Excalibur was built in 1997.

Series I

Built between 1965 and 1969 (and sold into 1970 from existing stock), the Series I was available as the Excalibur SS or the supercharged SSK. These used Chevrolet 327 V8s in Corvette tune. With a weight of and the standard 3.31:1 rear axle, acceleration from took less than six seconds. Projected top speed was . The Series I car used a batch of 400 unusable Studebaker Lark chassis bought from the failing manufacturer.

The initial, "Step-Over" design had no doors and used cycle fenders. For 1966, a roadster with proper mudguards and running boards was introduced, as well as the four-seater Phaeton model.

Excalibur SS (4633350948).jpg|Excalibur SS (Series I)

1965 Excalibur SSK 2-door Step-Over in Silver, rear left.jpg|Rear view of a 1965 SSK (supercharged; the second chassis)

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Series II

The Series II was about longer than the Series I, initially sitting on a wheelbase of . The cars were now built on an assembly line, with proper contracts from parts and assembly suppliers. The chassis was no longer from Studebaker; instead Excalibur developed their own ladder frame chassis with suspension parts and the four-wheel disc brakes from the Corvette. The engine was Chevrolet's 350 V8, still producing . The molds for the bodyworks were refined and equipment levels considerably increased, which justified a price which was nearly double that of the initial model. Bodystyles included the SS Roadster, SSK Roadster, and SS Phaeton. The SSK, a sportier model with cycle fenders and no running boards, was only available in 1970. Sales however, dropped precipitously: only 37 examples were built in 1970, and none in 1971. Timmer left the picture, being replaced by the Udo's son Jens, and the company was reformed as the Excalibur Automobile Corporation. After having hired a handful of earlier Excalibur employees, the Geitlingers instead chose to revive the Series III in modernized form. The Geitlingers also started building an AC Cobra replica called the Excalibur JAC Cobra alongside what was now called the Excalibur Limited Edition 100. Inside, a driver's side airbag was offered, as well as anti-lock brakes.

In 1984, to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary, a special edition was released. Limited to fifty examples, these are all painted in two-tone white over gray with a matching gray Connolly leather interior.

NeoClassicExcalibur.jpg|Series IV Roadster (1982)

1982 Excalibur Phaeton Series IV.JPG|Series IV Phaeton (1982)

1984 Excalibur Series IV Phaeton (5409795985).jpg|Series IV Phaeton (1984; rear view)

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Series V

The Series V continued Excalibur's pattern of a significant revision every five years, although the Series V was mostly just a better equipped Series IV, using more bespoke parts at the interior. For 1986, the Excalibur benefitted from the introduction of the centre, high-mounted stop light. After the Excalibur company went bankrupt in 1986, it was reformed in 1987, with the new company keeping the Series IV in production and also introducing a four-door sedan and a long-wheelbase limousine. 101 sedans and 13 limousines were built of the Series V, with a handful more being turned out after the bankruptcy. 9 of the sedans were also turned into long wheelbase limousines by outside coachbuilders in 1988 and 1989.

Excalibur kept building the Series V until they went bankrupt again in 1990. Two attempts were made to start production again in 1991, but no cars were built until 1994, when the Series VI was introduced.

Excalibur Series V 1X7A2559.jpg|Series V Convertible

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Series VI

After Udo and Jens Geitlinger's limited relaunch of Excalibur in 1992, they introduced the Series VI in 1994. A lightly updated Series V, the Series VI was fitted with the then-current Corvette's LT1 engine, producing . Around two dozen had been built by the time production halted for good in 1997.<gallery widths="200" heights="150">

File:Lincoln Excalibur - Series-VI.jpg|Series VI

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References

External links

Site d'information sur l'automobile Excalibur (France)

History

Series I

Series II

Series V

Series VI

See also

References

External links