Deco
Rides
PO box 102
14 Schooley's Mt. Rd.
Long Valley, NJ 07853
908 876-9727
fax 908 876-1692
CARS FOR SALE, Continued
DECO RIDES Maserati Powered BOATTAIL SPEEDSTER
SOLD AT RM Monterey Auction!
Forever smitten by the incredible styling of the original Al Leamy-designed Auburn Boattail Speedsters (1927-1934) as well as the subsequent Gordon Buehrig-designed 1935-'36 Auburn Boattails, in 1998, Terry Cook of DECO RIDES in NJ, saw a sketch of a streamlined boattail speedster and was inspired. Cook embarked on a six year Odyssey to complete the project.
DECO RIDES built the boattail speedster on a 127-inch wheelbase rectangular steel tube chassis. It incorporates both independent front and rear suspension with disc brakes on all four corners. The body is painted in a champagne pearl over black color scheme, with an orange pinstripe on the beltline where the colors break together. Inspired by legendary coach builders Figoni & Falaschi, the fully enclosed rear wheel pontoons can be removed from the car to change the tires, which are mounted on wire wheels. The car is the same length and wheelbase as a Buehrig-bodied Auburn boattail, but it is ten inches lower at the cowl height measurement.
The interior has been upholstered in a combination of black leather with black Alligator insert. The folding convertible top is designed so it can be removed and stowed away in the trunk. A split tonneau cover can be zipped to cover either the passenger's side, the entire cockpit, or it too can be removed to be stowed in the trunk.
The pointed boattail end of the body is flanked by a pair of "wings" supporting the matching pointed rear "pontoons." Tucked under and protruding from each rear "wing" are four chromed megaphones. The pipes portend something special tucked under the hood. At the other end of the exhausts, in the engine bay you will find a Maserati Quattroporte V8 backed by a Torqueflite automatic transmission. The 4930 cc 4.9 litre wet sump engine has four overhead camshafts and two valves per cylinder producing 280 hp at 5600 rpm. The original lid to the air cleaner box atop the engine has been replaced with a specially made clear plastic cover. When the hood is up and the engine is running, you can look in and watch the four 42 DCNF Weber carburetors work! The original air cleaner cover is included with the car, packaged in a box in the trunk.
The Maserati powred DECO RIDES Boattail Speedster was sold for $110,000 at the RM Auction in Monterey, CA in August 2005.