Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet – 1938

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938



Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet – 1938


Marca : Graham
Modello : 97 Supercharged
Versione : Cabriolet
Anno : 1938
Telaio N. : 141747
Motore N. : 146749
Esemplari prodotti : 2
Carrozzeria :
Motore : 6 cilindri in linea
Cilindrata : 217.8 cu. in.
Distribuzione : L-head
Valvole Cilindro : 2
Alimentazione : crankshaft-driven supercharger
Potenza : 116 bhp
Top speed Km/h : —


Auction Result
2017 – Amelia Island – RM Sotheby's – $770,000


Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

THE SPIRIT OF MOTION

That title suggests an abstract work of art, and the 1938 Graham was as close to that category as production automobile design ever dared reach. It was, for its time, as mold-breaking as the Cord 810 that preceded it two years prior. The final creation of the late Amos Northrup, an early pioneer in automotive aerodynamics, it sported a jutting prow flanked by curved fenders, with headlights blended smoothly into their leading edges. The radiator seemed to bend around the hood with the force of the wind, its strakes continuing nearly all the way to the cowl. Pontoon fenders, with shrouds over the rear wheels, and a built-in trunk were not altogether new in 1938. However, no American car before had carried them quite so audaciously.

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

SHARKNOSE BY SAOUTCHIK

Like many advanced American designs of the late , “The Spirit of Motion” caught on much stronger in avant-garde Europe than in its home country. The finest European coachbuilders took Northrup's aerodynamic lines as their muse, among them Jacques Saoutchik of Paris. Saoutchik installed custom cabriolet bodywork on several “Sharknose” chassis, of which the car shown here is believed to be one of two existing examples and the only one currently in the United States.

Writing in the June 1984 issue of The Classic Car, automotive historian Karl Zahm described the Saoutchik Graham best: “This Graham is a rakish car made more so by the absence of running boards and its decided ‘notch-back' style accented by the sweeping side moldings. An aerodynamically inspired fin molded into and forming part of the rear deck adds to its streamlined look. The car is also fitted with unique parallel opening doors built under license by its developer, British coachbuilder , Ltd. A double-bar, pivoting swing hinge is used, allowing the fifty-two-inch wide doors to swing out and back over the rear fenders – always parallel to the car's sides. The door windows are also unusual in that they work on a double retractable system. Upon rolling down the window, the rear or larger part retracts first, allowing the wind wing section either to return into the body of the door or be left upright in operable position.”

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

Chassis number 141747 was one of two Saoutchik-bodied Grahams displayed at the 1938 Paris Salon, with this particular car being the more “special” of the pair, with its cantilevered doors and folding windshield. It was the car displayed on Saoutchik's stand, where photographs depicted Pierre Saoutchik presenting it to French President Albert François Lebrun. It was shown again at the Faire de Lyon in March 1939, as featured in the Graham factory newsletter, The Supercharger.

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

The car is recorded by Saoutchik historian Peter Larsen as having been originally sold to a Maurice Reb. Reb kept his car during the time that he was stationed in Algeria with the French Army. However, the commanding officer of the French Army in Algeria, General Alphose Juin, requisitioned the Graham. Reb put up a fuss and was subsequently conscripted to the General's chauffeur until the end of 1939! Late in 1940, Reb returned with the car to Algiers and around this time, it was converted to run on coal gas due to severe wartime fuel supply restrictions. Reb sold the Graham to the Army in late 1942, who then put a military vehicle gas engine in the car. It remained there for two more years; during this time, it was photographed in the town of Touggourt, where it remained in service as a staff car.

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

The Graham was eventually acquired in 1944 by an American Chrysler employee, Thomas Demetry, from the French Army Service of Supply, and was exported from the Algerian port city of Oran to the United States for $175. The car was then traded among enthusiasts in Michigan until 1966, when its final Great Lakes State owner, Morley , sold it to legendary collector William Harrah for his renowned Nevada museum. Harrah's staff performed their usual painstaking research on the car's past, including following up on a rumor of its use by Charles de Gaulle; they contacted de Gaulle's office, which sent back a terse reply that they would not be commenting, and that it would be best not to pursue the matter further!

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

The car was sold at one of the Harrah's Automobile Collection dispersal auctions in 1981 to Edmund Kowalski of California, who exhaustively documented its restoration over a 30-year period of research on two continents. Finally, in 2013, it was acquired by the current owner, who set to work having RM Auto Restoration resurrect it to its original beauty.

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

 

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

 

 

 

 

 

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

 

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

 

 

 

 

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

 

 

 

 

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

 

 

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938

 

Graham 97 Supercharged Cabriolet - 1938


 

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