22K-Mile 1974 Stutz Blackhawk – SOLD FOR $18,000

May 1, 2025 Update – We’re pleased to report this 1974 Stutz Blackhawk found a new home for $18,000! The new caretaker plans to complete a full frame-off restoration on the car, so we look forward to seeing the results.

If you’re not familiar with them, the Stutz Blackhawk is an American ultra-luxury car manufactured from 1971 through 1987. New York Banker James O’Donnell partnered with retired Chrysler stylist Virgil Exner to revive the famed 1920s Stutz Motor Company in August 1968. Exner immediately went to work designing a custom personal luxury car that included a spare tire that protruded through the trunk lid, a massive ‘kidney’ grille, and freestanding headlamps.  To offer exclusivity and still allow easy servicing in the U.S. a custom-built Italian body was added to a General Motors platform and engine. The Blackhawk debuted in January 1970 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Prices ranged from US$22,500 to US$75,000 at a time when the standard Pontiac Grand Prixs on which they were based cost about $5,000 new.  All early Blackhawks were coupes, but rare sedans were produced later. Convertible versions were called D’Italia and Bearcat. Stutz Blackhawks became the car of choice among elite entertainers of the day.  By 1976 Stutz had sold 205 Blackhawks and about six a month were handbuilt in Italy and shipped to the U.S. By April 1980 350 Blackhawks had been sold and by the time production ended in 1987 approximately 500 to 600 cars had been manufactured.

With an extra heavy gauge steel body handmade at Carrozzeria Padane in Modena, Italy, and from 1972 at Carrozzeria Saturn in Cavallermaggiore, near Torino, Italy, and greater than 19 feet long, production Blackhawks used Pontiac Grand Prix running gear, Pontiac’s 455 cubic inch V8 engine, and a GM TH400 three-speed automatic transmission.  With its engine tuned to produce 425 horsepower and 420 foot-pounds of torque, a 5000-pound Blackhawk accelerated to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds when new while delivering eight miles per gallon. The handbuilt Blackhawk has 18 to 22 hand-rubbed lacquer paint coats that took six weeks to apply. The total production time for each vehicle was over 1500 man-hours.

Stutz originally built this example in August 1974 for a private owner based in Long Island. Three years later, the owner of a Long Island based Pontiac dealership in the 1970s purchased the car his wife.