To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Open Roads, Fall event, 11
- 20 November 2020.
Estimate:
$52,000 - $60,000
- Highly desirable first year of Buick's Estate Wagons
- One of just 495 produced
- Believed to be one of few remaining examples
Buick came late to the station wagon business. Not until mid-year
in 1940 did such a style appear in their catalogue, but the GM
division made up for lost time with a series of elegant wood-bodied
cars right through to 1953. In fact, Buick was the last major
manufacturer to offer real structural wood bodies in passenger car
lines.
It happened in a roundabout way. As told by historians Terry Dunham
and Lawrence Gustin in The Buick: A Complete History, Evelyn
"Bunny" McLeod, a Hollywood socialite and wife of director Norman
Z. McLeod, gave a party at her Beverly Hills home. In attendance
were GM's Harley Earl and Buick president Harlowe Curtice. Mrs.
McLeod happened to mention that she did not own a Buick because the
marque did not offer a station wagon. Upon return to Detroit, Earl
set out to design one and Curtice placed an order for 501 bodies,
495 for U.S. sales and six for export.
Construction of the bodies was entrusted to Biehl's Auto Body Works
in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Mrs. McLeod was presented with the
prototype car in a well-publicized ceremony at the Coconut Grove
nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Built on the
121-in. wheelbase Super chassis, it was designated the Model 59
Estate Wagon in accordance with Buick nomenclature and was powered
by the 107 bhp, 248 cu. in. valve-in-head straight eight used by
the rest of the Super line.
Buoyed by the celebrity publicity, the Model 59 quickly sold out.
Buick followed up this success by ordering 1941 Estate Wagon bodies
from Hercules Body Company in Evansville, Indiana, which had the
capacity to deliver greater volume. After World War II, Ionia
Manufacturing Company in Ionia, Michigan, became the principal
supplier for Buick and other GM wagons.
This handsome 1940 Buick Super Estate Wagon is finished in a
beautiful shade of maroon, accented nicely by the wood bodywork
refinished during a full restoration completed in 1997. The
exterior features a Buick Club of America grille badge, fog lights,
and dual sideview mirrors. Intended to be both shown and driven,
the 'Woodie' currently rides on orange painted steel wheels with
modern radial tires for better handling and enhanced comfort. The
Estate Wagon's interior features a dash clock and Sonomatic
radio.
Believed to be one of very few examples known to exist, this first
year 1940 Buick Super Estate Wagon represents a "holy grail" for
both Buick and 'Woodie' collectors.To view this car and others
currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/0620.