Pierce-Arrow sales had been slipping during the Depression despite an infusion of funds by owner Studebaker. Young designer Phil Wright scored a hit with the Cord L-29 Speedster under Auburn president Roy Faulkner. When Faulkner left for Pierce-Arrow, Wright presented a rendering for a new halo car. It was built at Studebaker with some changes by chief body engineer James Hughes, and became a sensation at the 1933 New York Auto Show with its streamlined styling. Its integrated front fenders, faired-in headlamps, recessed door handles, lack of running boards and tapered tail with pontoon fenders would not so much influence the final years of Pierce-Arrow styling, as much as future auto design industry wide.

Five examples were built and only three survive. This one turned heads at the 1933 “A Century of Progress” World’s Fair in Chicago. Afterwards it sold to Charles Overall, an illustrator in Lake Bluff, Illinois. Eventually it found its way to Henry Austin Clark Jr. who had it restored in 1950. He put it on display in his Long Island Automotive Museum, and told stories of it belonging to Al Capone. It has resided with a handful of collectors since, and was refinished in the 1990s.

• YEAR & MAKE - 1933 Pierce Arrow 
• MODEL NAME - Silver Arrow 
• BODY TYPE - 4-Door Sedan 
• BODY BY - Studebaker
• # CYLS. - L-Head V-12
• TRANSMISSION TYPE & NUMBER - 3-Speed Synchromesh with Freewheeling, Rear-Wheel Drive 
• WEIGHT - 5,790 lbs
• ESTIMATED PRODUCTION - 5
• HP - 175
• C.I.D. - 462
• WHEELBASE - 139″
• PRICE NEW - $10,000