USA · est. 1911
The car that made good in a day.
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By 1910, Harry C. Stutz’s Stutz Auto Parts Company was making rear-axle-mounted transmissions. In April 1911 he began building a car for the first Indianapolis 500; completed in five weeks, it finished eleventh with Gil Anderson driving. The official result records a Stutz/Wisconsin entry completing all 200 laps at 67.73 mph, and the performance supplied the slogan, “The Car That Made Good in a Day.”
In June 1911, Stutz and Henry F. Campbell, Ideal Motor Car Company’s president, organised Ideal in Indianapolis. Its Model A was a production car based on the racer; early cars used a Wisconsin engine and Stutz transaxle, and were offered as roadster, tonneau and touring models at $2,000. The two-seat Bearcat followed in 1912. Ideal and Stutz Auto Parts merged into Stutz Motor Car Company in 1913, and its Capitol Avenue factory building followed in 1914. In 1915 Erwin G. Baker drove a Bearcat from New York to San Diego in 11 days, 7 hours and 15 minutes.
The business was reorganised and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1916. Harry Stutz left on 1 July 1919; after Charles M. Schwab took control, Frederick E. Moskovics became president in 1925. The 1926 Vertical Eight combined a single-overhead-cam straight-eight with the low Safety Stutz chassis. At Le Mans, Robert Bloch and Édouard Brisson finished second overall in a Model BB Blackhawk in 1928 after a gearbox delay; a Model M finished fifth overall in 1929. The 1931 DV-32 used twin overhead camshafts and 32 valves.
Passenger-car output dwindled to six cars in 1934. The original concern entered bankruptcy proceedings in April 1937, and a federal court ordered liquidation in April 1938. Stutz Motor Car of America, a separate revival of the name, began in 1968; it used Italian-built custom bodies and Pontiac V-8 power, and ceased vehicle production in 1995.
Selected milestones
1911
Eleventh at the first 500
A Stutz/Wisconsin driven by Gil Anderson finished eleventh in the inaugural Indianapolis 500, completing 200 laps at 67.73 mph. Stutz had built the car in five weeks.
1911
Ideal begins production
Ideal Motor Car Company was organised in June. Its Model A was announced as a production car based on the Indianapolis racer; production began later that year.
1913
Stutz Motor Car Company
Ideal Motor Car Company and Stutz Auto Parts merged into Stutz Motor Car Company. The first Capitol Avenue factory building followed in 1914.
1926
The Safety Stutz
Under Frederick E. Moskovics, Stutz introduced the Vertical Eight: a single-overhead-cam straight-eight on a low Safety Stutz chassis with worm drive and hydraulic brakes.
1928
Second at Le Mans
Robert Bloch and Édouard Brisson finished second overall in the 1928 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Stutz Model BB Blackhawk entered by Société de Carrosserie Weymann. A gearbox problem delayed the car for 90 minutes.
1937–38
Bankruptcy and liquidation
The original company entered bankruptcy proceedings in April 1937. A federal court ordered liquidation in April 1938.
What defines Stutz
Ideal announced the Model A as a car based on the 1911 racer, rather than selling the race car itself. The Bearcat, introduced in 1912, was a low two-seat sports car built along racing lines.
Stutz Auto Parts began by selling Stutz’s rear-mounted transaxle. Early production cars paired that unit with a bought-in Wisconsin four-cylinder engine.
The 1926 Safety Stutz used a worm-gear differential that placed the driveshaft below the rear axle and lowered the body. Its safety equipment included a wire-glass windshield and four-wheel hydraulic brakes.