TWO FOR THE ROAD
Our correspondent is let loose in the toyshop
This was exciting and frustrating in equal measure. I could pick any cars from the 155 examples in the collection and drive them as much as I wanted, but the need to catch a flight would limit me to just two. So after a sleepless night, I chose the 1938 Hudson 8 De Luxe Convertible and the 1940 Lincoln Zephyr V12 Coupe.
A dark red V12 seems a good choice to start with, even one made in Detroit rather than Maranello. Its John Tjaarda-designed shape looks wonderful with its long, rounded tail, while inside it is reminiscent of grandma’s living room, with cloth covering almost everything.
All you hear from the 4.7-litre engine when it is warm and idling is a distant hum. First gear is selected via a lever on the steering column, a first in this 1940 model year, and we proceed with a smoothness amazing for the age of the car. Soon we’re in third, the highest gear, and the engine still sounds distant despite the 120bhp resulting from the petrol and air sucked through the Holley carburettor. A touch on the brake pedal slows us immediately, without apparent exertion from the four drum brakes.
When I turn the steering wheel to point the distant front of the bonnet in the right direction, though, I have to wait a little to see the results of my manoeuvring. This is no sports car, but you could happily drive it from New York to LA.
And so to the blue Hudson 8 (below), which looks very sporting with its low fabric roof and high chromed grille. This is a car to impress, to make you look cool rather than encouraging you to drive it a lot. But I picked it because I was curious to drive a car equipped with the ‘electric hand’ of pre-selector, power-controlled gear shifting, a semi-automatic transmission manufactured by Bendix. It changes gear with a vacuum system when the clutch pedal is pressed, to the ratio you have already selected via the small joystick that takes the place of a regular gear lever.
It works more slowly than a conventional system and it needs some practice to achieve a smooth shift. You should be able to downshift without matching the engine revs, but the system appreciates your co-operation here and it takes some miles, with the system and the driver warming up, to achieve a good result. The cabin is more cramped than the Linclon’s and the view is limited by the windscreen’s narrowness.
Of the two, I’d pick the Lincoln. I suddenly remember that Enzo Ferrari declared that his love for the V12 engine started after driving one installed in an American car in the 1930s. Perhaps it’s more than just the colour that links this Zephyr V12 to the cars built in Maranello.