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In 1925, new Stutz president, Frederick E. Moskovics, came up with a "Safety Chassis" idea and produced a straight-eight car that touted safety. In 1927, Stutz brought its car to Indianapolis Raceway and won the Stevens Trophy Cup, despite the fact that it had a 131-inch wheelbase and weighed over two tons (4, 140 lbs.). It may have been a stormer, but it touted three innovations: safety glass, a lower center of gravity, and low-effort hydrostatic brakes.
DM has paid tribute to this innovative car with a 1:24 scale model that is high in quality if feature poor. Earlier, FM put out a 1928 version of this car. DM's model is better in overall quality, but it lacks the opening trunk and removable convertible top of the FM model. This isn't altogether bad, since when you remove the top from the FM car, the positioning holes are visible. The DM version also looks cleaner, eschewing many of the frills of the '28 and dropping the chrome wire wheels in favor of sharp-looking red ones. DM also threw in a leather seat. Engine detailing is about the same for both-uninspiring.
While not as feature-rich as DM's later efforts, this Stutz is a good example of a great car and, with its beautifully applied gleaming black paint, looks sleek sitting on the display shelf. The 3/97 reissue was unchanged from the previous release. The issue price is $109 + $5.80 S&H. (08/01/1998)
(12/01/1998)
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