HERSHEY, PA., May 10, 2011 - During the Golden Age of car manufacturing, luxury car purchasers were offered a myriad of special expensive custom bodies that could be placed on the chassis of their choice. Some were factory customs, while at times a bare chassis would be sent to an outside firm for a true one-off creation. On June 12th 2011, some of rarest cars equipped with unique Pennsylvania-built coachbuilt bodies will converge at The Elegance at Hershey.
During the multi-cylinder war of the 1930s, Cadillac surely led the way with its mighty V16, and typically, the coachbuilder of choice was Fleetwood, nestled in Berks County until purchased by General Motors. On display at The Elegance will be four incredible Fleetwood-bodied V16 Cadillacs, each sporting a unique design. Two 'open' cars, a 1930 Model 452 Roadster priced at over $5300 when new, and a 1931 Model 452A All-Weather Phaeton, both of which were built in the town of Fleetwood, join two extremely rare Fleetwood coupes, an $8150 one-of-eight built 1936 Series 90 Aero-Dynamic coupe and the last remaining 1937 Series 90 Two-Passenger Coupe built for the President of Lorillard Tobacco.
Besides Cadillac, Fleetwood also provided bodies for exotic European chassis. Included in the Fleetwood gathering is an extremely rare 1927 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8AS Roadster. Priced at nearly $25,000 when new, Fleetwood created a similar car for Rudolph Valentino.
Rounding out the Pennsylvania lineage group is a 1931 Packard 745 Convertible Victoria. Custom built by the Rosemont, Pennsylvania firm Derham Coach, the rumble-seat equipped car is one of four created by the respected coachbuilder.
Joining these cars at The Elegance at Hershey will be some of the world's most exquisite and sought after collector vehicles of all times.
For more information concerning The Elegance at Hershey, visit www.TheEleganceAtHershey.org