Based in Buffalo, New York State, Pierce built birdcages, ice boxes and bicycles before introducing its first petrol-driven automobile - the 3.5hp single-cylinder De Dion-powered Motorette - in 1901. (The Pierce-Arrow name was first applied to the company’s twin-cylinder model in 1904). In 1908 the firm became the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company and within a few years had switched its attention exclusively to the production of luxury cars, pioneering many technological developments, including servo-assisted braking and hydraulic tappets, while building some of the most prestigious motor cars ever to grace America’s highways. Some idea of the rapidity of Pierce-Arrow’s rise to prominence may be gauged from the fact that as early as 1909 The White House ordered two for state occasions. From then onwards the name Pierce-Arrow would be synonymous with the ultimate in motoring luxury, ranking alongside Cadillac, Packard and Rolls-Royce. Clinging to traditional styling and handicapped by a range of sixes in an increasingly multi-cylinder marketplace, Pierce-Arrow saw its sales decline throughout the 1920s. In 1928 an alliance was forged with Studebaker, which viewed Pierce-Arrow’s acquisition as a means of gaining entry to the luxury car market. A new range of straight-eights - already under development before Studebaker’s arrival - was introduced and Pierce-Arrow sales doubled in 1929. A V12 joined the eight in November 1931, but both Pierce-Arrow and Studebaker were finding life tough in the post-Wall Street Crash years, and when the latter filed for bankruptcy in 1933, Pierce-Arrow found itself independent once again. Despite the critical acclaim lavished on its futuristic Silver Arrow show car – five of which were sold costing $10,000 each – the firm was severely handicapped by the lack of a lower-price range, unlike its major rivals. Sales dwindled throughout the 1930s and the once-great Pierce-Arrow folded in 1938. This restored eight-cylinder Club Sedan is one of only 875 Pierce-Arrow motor cars sold in 1935 and was acquired by the vendor in 1992. Previously forming part of the Sterling McCall Old Car Museum Collection in Warrenton, Texas, it was featured in the 1973 motion picture The Sting, starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw The car is offered with a Certificate of Title.
Based in Buffalo, New York State, Pierce built birdcages, ice boxes and bicycles before introducing its first petrol-driven automobile - the 3.5hp single-cylinder De Dion-powered Motorette - in 1901. (The Pierce-Arrow name was first applied to the company’s twin-cylinder model in 1904). In 1908 the firm became the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company and within a few years had switched its attention exclusively to the production of luxury cars, pioneering many technological developments, including servo-assisted braking and hydraulic tappets, while building some of the most prestigious motor cars ever to grace America’s highways. Some idea of the rapidity of Pierce-Arrow’s rise to prominence may be gauged from the fact that as early as 1909 The White House ordered two for state occasions. From then onwards the name Pierce-Arrow would be synonymous with the ultimate in motoring luxury, ranking alongside Cadillac, Packard and Rolls-Royce. Clinging to traditional styling and handicapped by a range of sixes in an increasingly multi-cylinder marketplace, Pierce-Arrow saw its sales decline throughout the 1920s. In 1928 an alliance was forged with Studebaker, which viewed Pierce-Arrow’s acquisition as a means of gaining entry to the luxury car market. A new range of straight-eights - already under development before Studebaker’s arrival - was introduced and Pierce-Arrow sales doubled in 1929. A V12 joined the eight in November 1931, but both Pierce-Arrow and Studebaker were finding life tough in the post-Wall Street Crash years, and when the latter filed for bankruptcy in 1933, Pierce-Arrow found itself independent once again. Despite the critical acclaim lavished on its futuristic Silver Arrow show car – five of which were sold costing $10,000 each – the firm was severely handicapped by the lack of a lower-price range, unlike its major rivals. Sales dwindled throughout the 1930s and the once-great Pierce-Arrow folded in 1938. This restored eight-cylinder Club Sedan is one of only 875 Pierce-Arrow motor cars sold in 1935 and was acquired by the vendor in 1992. Previously forming part of the Sterling McCall Old Car Museum Collection in Warrenton, Texas, it was featured in the 1973 motion picture The Sting, starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw The car is offered with a Certificate of Title.
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