A Rare American Stutz Blackhawk Coupe with a Hand-Coached Body from Italy Is Up for Sale (12 photos + 1 video)
A rare 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI luxury American automobile was listed for auction at the online auction site Bring a Trailer. From its production until 2024, the car belonged to famous baseball player Willie Mays. The maximum bid for the car was $75,000. 
The original Stutz Black Hawk Special broke the land speed record for cars with engines up to 1.5 liters in 1927, reaching 163.947 mph (263.947 km/h). In the 1960s, the brand was revived with funds from New York banker James O'Donnell. The model name was now written as one word. It was based on a Pontiac Grand Prix with a 7.5-liter V8 engine (425 hp) mated to a three-speed automatic. The car accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds.
The idea was to install a new body on an existing chassis and components. It was designed by former Chrysler designer Virgil Exner, but production was set up overseas, at the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Padane. Stutz blanks were shipped from the United States to Modena, and then the finished cars, hand-assembled, were shipped back. This significantly increased the cost, but there were plenty of wealthy buyers. The luxurious interior was also completely different: leather, wood, gold leaf, and Australian wool were used for the trim.
Owners of these cars included Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Al Pacino. The Blackhawk up for sale belonged to famous American baseball player Willie Mays until his death in 2024. The car has covered 27,000 kilometers and is in excellent condition. It features a light-colored interior, a cassette player, air conditioning, power accessories, a radio, and a telephone.
Stutz production lasted from 1971 to 1987. Formally, there were seven generations, but total production did not exceed 600 cars. Their distinguishing feature was, among other things, the paint job: 18 to 22 layers of lacquer, hand-polished. The painting process took six weeks. 
