Exclusive Look at 1979 Stutz Bearcat Convertible

November 27, 2024 Update - We’re pleased to report one of the high bidders from this Stutz’s August auction agreed to the firm reserve price of $39,000 after visiting and inspecting the car in person.
GuysWithRides.com is pleased to offer Lot 24131, a survivor-quality 1979 Stutz Bearcat Convertible, believed to be one of only seven ever produced! This Stutz Bearcat is currently part of a Lumberton, New Jersey collection.
Bidding opened Wednesday, August 21, 2024, and closed one week later on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, at 5:00 PM Eastern, with the high bid of $31,700 not meeting the car's reserve price of $39,900.
The original Stutz Bearcat Series A, launched in 1912, was one of the earliest sports cars ever produced. A formidable sports car for it’s time, it’s 60-horsepower, 390 cubic inch inline four cylinder engine helped the Stutz Bearcat brand sales by winning 25 of the 30 races. It’s racing pedigree helped the Stutz Bearcat become a status symbol of the early 20th Century. Priced at two thousand dollars, the Stutz Bearcat cost roughly four times as much as a Ford Model T of the day.
Stutz Motor Company produced eleven series of the Bearcat between 1912 and 1924. While an early 1930’s attempt to reintroduce the Bearcat failed (likely due to the Great Depression), the brand remained the stuff of legends through most of the twentieth century.
Then in 1967, famed American Automobile designer Virgil Exner resurrected the Bearcat name for his “Revival Car” concept. Design challenges for producing a bespoke convertible forced to Exner to focus his efforts on building the Pontiac Grand Prix based Blackhawk Coupe that finally launched in 1970. When the U.S. Federal Government roll-over standards never materialized, Exner decided to move forward with a convertible version of the Bearcat called the Blackhawk.
While pre-1978 versions of Blackhawk were essentially rebodied Pontiac Grand Prixs, General Motors’ (“GM”) downsized it’s mid-size G-Body coupes for 1978. This manufacturing change forced Stutz to switch to GM’s B Body platform which was used to build Pontiac’s Bonneville. In lieu of a true convertible, the modern Bearcat featured a fixed roll hoop with a removable front targa panel combined with a folding canvas rear section. Stutz offered the new Bearcat convertible in 1979 for the princely sum of $100,000, or the equivalent of $453,000 in 2024 dollars. At such a high price, it’s no wonder only seven 1979 Stutz Bearcat convertibles were ever produced.
One of the seven Stutz Bearcats commissioned for 1979 was by Carl H. Linder, then Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Chiquita Brands International, Inc. An avid modern Stutz enthusiast, Linder reportedly owned three Blackhawk Coupes before commissioning this Banana Yellow Bearcat Convertible. Carl enjoyed the car for a number years before selling it. Despite having less than 25K miles the car’s exterior reportedly fell into disrepair before being restored by the now defunct Wonder-Years restoration shop.
This Banana Yellow 1979 Stutz Bearcat convertible features it’s original 403 cubic inch Oldsmobile-sourced V8 mated to a TurboHydramatic 400 automatic transmission. The light tan interior, with less than 25k miles traveled, presents in restored condition. It appears the car received a repaint approximately twenty years ago. While this 1979 Stutz Bearcat convertible presents very well for its age, the pictures highlight the paint flaws found during our inspection.
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