Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely exceptional
example of this extraordinarily rare and older restored example of
a 1915 Hupmobile Model K Five Passenger 119" Wheelbase Touring car
with it's seemingly original 4 cylinder 36HP engine, original 3
speed non-synchromesh manual transmission, and beautifully
presented in 'Dark green' with a Black convertible top and a
remarkable 'Black' leather original specification interior!In 1915
Hupmobile built the Model 32 4cyl 32HP 106" wheelbase car as a 2
Passenger Roadster amp; a 4 Passenger Touring car and they also
built the Model K on a 119" wheelbase and with their 4 cyl 36HP
engine. They came in 4 versions:a 2 Passenger Roadster; a 5
Passenger Touring Car (this particular example); a 2 Passenger
Coupe amp; a Limousine. The particular Model K 119" wheelbase
Touring car has absolutely no rust and there are no signs or
history of any accidents or rust - one very rare example and one of
very few examples remaining of this low production model, in even
rarer great running and driving condition! The car has an original
spec 'Black' canvas convertible top with rear windows and frame
with no rips or tears and which is perfectly functional, original
wooden steering wheel, original wheels with 4 'Firestone' correct
specification tires, amp; original 'Hup' gauges. We recently had
the car fully serviced with an overhauled starter motor installed,
a new ignition switch and battery, and the car drives superbly. All
the options are working as they should including all the gauges and
lights, this is one very well sorted example.Robert Craig Hupp's
career in the automotive industry included stints with Olds, Fords
amp; Regal before engineering his own experimental model of a new
car of his on in 1909. It was to be a small two passenger runabout
with a gasoline tank mounted behind the seat with power from a 4
cylinder 4 stroke water cooled engine pushing out 16 HP. This first
'Hupmobile' was designated as the 'Model 20' and was introduced in
1909 at the Detroit Auto Show after which it was put into
production by the newly formed 'Hupp Motor Company' only one week
later! The Hupp organization would grow to include a number of
renown Detroit automobile engineers amp; executives too and to be a
true competitor to Ford amp; Chevrolet. In just their first year a
staggering 1,618 'Hupmobiles' were built and sold. In 1910 the
figure would grow to 5,340 cars and on November 10th, 1910, one of
the company's first Model D Four passenger touring cars, took off
from the assembly line in Detroit on a round the world promotional
trek that would see that Humpmobile travel some 48,600 miles
through 26 different countries returning to Detroit in triumph on
January 24th, 1912. The company in the meantime had been going from
success to success with the Model 32 introduced in 1912 being a
very powerful car on a 106" wheelbase and with sales by 1913
reaching 11,649 vehicles.In 1915 Hupmobile acquired the 'American
Gear amp; Manufacturing Company' of Jackson, MI and with it the
services of Dubois 'Pink' Young, who would ultimately rise to the
position of presidency of the 'Hupp Motor Car Corporation', and who
oversaw the direction of the company expanding into a flurry of
models including couple of Seven passenger versions on 134"
wheelbases. The company later moved away from it's venerable and
lauded 'Hupp Four' with an 8 cylinder Series E introduced in 1925
and a six cylinder in 1926. By 1929 the company was lagging in
sales and by the time of the stock market crash the company was
already heading for trouble. Nevertheless a Hupmobile entered the
Indianapolis 500 in 1932 driven by the experienced Indy driver
Russell Snowberger and finished 5th.But by 1934 internal management
politics and mismanagement were plaguing the company and resulted
in the resignation by Dubois Young and the sequential taking over
of the Hupmobile presidential chair by several others and by 1935
with fewer and fewer Hup dealers and by now disappointing sales
there was little left of the company to fight over. A Federal
Reserve loan was denied and the company began selling off it's
plants to raise money. A final bid to salvage the company's
fortunes took place in 1938 when for $900K the dies, tooling, jigs
etc used for the front drive 810/812 Cord were purchased and
converted for use in a rear drive Hupmobile! John Tjaarda whose
aerodynamic experimental cars had brought him fame with the Lincoln
Zephyr and had been widely hailed was assigned the job of revising
the Cord coffin nose into a front end distinctively Hupmobile and
the result was called the 'Hupmobile Skylark', but only 4 were to
be built in 1938 and for show purposes only. Enthusiastic orders
came in by the thousands, but production delays soured customer
support. 31 more were finally assembled in 1939 for display at
major Hupp dealerships but by then the roof had truly fallen in on
the company with yet another stockholder lawsuit. In the end a
partnership with the 'Graham-Paige Motor Co' would enable Hupp to
produce the final 319 Skylarks to be built, but with Hupmobile no
longer owning their car. By the time the final 319 Skylarks were
built and sold to Hupp distributors by Graham-Paige in 1941, the
Hupp Motor Company had declared bankruptcy. The Hupp Corporation of
Cleveland OH would continue in business after 1941, but not by
building or selling cars, but by evolving from their earlier
pioneering of fresh air car heaters, which later became an industry
standard, into producing freezers and air conditioning units etc
until going bankrupt once again, and finally, in 1991!This is
obviously one especially desirable example of and early Hupmobile,
with only very few remaining of this caliber, let alone that would
drive as well, and even fewer can be anywhere close to comparable
to this particularly well sorted and original 106 years old
example. This car truly has to be seen to be appreciated and
without a doubt you will look long and hard to find a finer example
of this beautifully presented 1915 Hupmobile Model K 5 Passenger
119' Wheelbase Touring Car, a very rare piece of American motoring
history and quite simply a perfect car for any early 20th century
classic car collector!
