The automotive world has a lot of interesting tales to tell. There are tales of success, like Henry Ford's Model T, which mobilized an entire nation and changed the car world forever, Elon Musk's Tesla, that's made EVs mainstream, and Lee Iacocca who saved Chrysler from the brink of certain death. And there are quite a lot of tragic stories, as well, like the 1955 Le Mans disaster, where 83 spectators perished from the debris of Pierre Levegh's Mercedes, who himself died in the accident too. But then, there are the "what if" stories, and one of the biggest examples of these is Tucker's story.The Tucker 48, more commonly known as the Tucker Torpedo, was a revolutionary car conceived by Preston Tucker. It was billed as the "First new car in 50 years" and the car of the future. And it was one of, if not the most innovative car America ever built by 1948. Preston Tucker and his team had built something that no one ever saw before, unfortunately, they failed miserably in the end. This is what everyone forgot about the Tucker Torpedo, the best classic car that wasn't meant to be.Related: Here’s What Everyone Forgot About Ford’s Edsel

10 The Brainchild Of Preston Tucker

Via: Alchetron

You can’t talk about Tucker Torpedo without mentioning its founder, Preston Tucker. Tucker was born in Detroit, in the shadow of three automobile giants. He had gasoline in his veins from a very young age, just like any child who lived in Detroit at the time. He was just 11 when he learned to drive and by the time he was 16, he was buying, restoring, and selling old automobiles. After that, he worked as an office boy at Cadillac and a policeman because he liked driving fast.

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Via: Wikimedia Commons

Since he always wanted to be around cars and racing, he moved to Indianapolis. There he met with guys like the Chevrolet brothers, and Harry Miller, who was a legend in the Indy 500. He started working with Miller and founded Miller and Tucker Inc. There he also met with John Eddie Offut, who was crucial in the development of the Tucker Torpedo.

9 It Had A Very Innovative Design

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Via: Wikimedia Commons

The Tucker Torpedo had a very innovative design that focused on safety and comfort. His original specifications were a flat-6 engine at the back with fuel injection, independent, springless suspension, and disc brakes. The original design work was done by George S. Lawson, but after he resigned from the Tucker Corporation, Preston Tucker hired Alex Tremulis to carry out the development of the design. But his work was improved upon by a team of five designers after his and his team’s contract expired. Tremulis was quickly rehired and named the Chief Designer by Preston Tucker.

Tucker 48 Bonhams 2
Via: Bonhams

The car looks like it came from the future. But it wasn’t limited to the looks. It also had some very innovative features, especially for an American car of the time. It had a flat-six engine at the back, the glove box was in the door panels, to give more space for the “crash chamber,” and the engine and transmission were mounted on a separate subframe, held only by 6 screws. This was done to remove the engine very quickly, and if something went wrong with the car, it could be up and running with a loaner engine while the car’s original one was being worked on.

8 It Was Built In The World's Largest Factory

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Via: Fiat/Chrysler Archives

Before the start of World War II, Tucker started manufacturing some war machines like the Combat Car and Gun Turret, but these endeavors were not very fruitful, apart from the turrets. He spent WWII building boats with turrets. But the war brought other chances to make money. After WWII ended, he somehow leased the Chicago Aircraft Engine Plant, which was the largest factory in the world at the time.

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Via: Wikimedia Commons

Preston Tucker raised the $15 million by selling dealership rights and stocks to lease the factory from the War Assets Administrations. He thought it would be important to have this large plant to produce every Tucker automobile under the same roof. Shortly after, the preparations for production started.

7 It Was Powered By An Aircraft Engine

Via: Mecum

The original specifications for the Tucker Torpedo called for a 589 cu in. flat-six producing 200 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque, but with a caveat. Preston Tucker wanted this engine to be a very low-revving one. It would only idle at 100 rpm and produce peak power at only 1800 rpm while cruising speeds come at a mere 1000 rpm.

Tucker 48 Bonhams 6
Via: Bonhams

But these engines were very problematic and only used in a test chassis for the prototype. For the production models, engineers selected the O-355, made by Air Cooled Motors, it was used in many small aircraft and made for the Bell 47 helicopter. It produced 166 horsepower. Engineers modified this engine to be used in a car and water-cooled it for some reason. Preston Tucker liked these engines so much that he bought the engine company.

Related: Here Are The 10 Coolest American Concept Cars Ever

6 The Middle Light Turned With The Wheels

Tucker 48 Bonhams 3
Via: Bonhams

One unusual feature of Tucker Torpedo is the turning middle headlight. They called it a “cyclops eye” and it turns when the steering wheel is turned more than 10 degrees. While the headlights that follow the steering angle were present in Europe, Tucker Torpedo was the first American car to implement it.

Tucker 48 RM Sotheby's
Via: RM Sohteby's

This cyclops eye was added to be a core feature of the safety aspect of the car. This light moves with the wheels to light the car’s way, lighting the area of the turn. Tucker claimed that the cyclops eye is “giving you precious seconds to avoid accidents.”

5 It Had Springless Suspension

Tucker 48 Bonhams 7
Via: Bonhams

Preston Tucker was always fascinated by the racing world and driving fast cars. This was prominent on his military vehicle, which could reach 100 mph, and there are also hints of the racing world on the Tucker Torpedo.

Tucker 48 Bonhams 16
Via: Bonhams

First, it was very aerodynamically advanced, with a drag co-efficiency of 0.30. But also it had springless rubber suspension. Tucker and Miller used this setup back when their cars raced at the Indy 500. This type of suspension wore down very easily, but they had unique advantages.

4 It Handled Great

Tucker 48 RM Sotheby's 2
RM Sotheby's

One of the said advantages of rubber suspensions is the handling. The Tucker Torpedo was amongst the best handling cars back in 1948. It had some problems that plagued all rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive cars with a live rear axle, but it was not as bad as the other cars of the era that used the same layout.

Tucker 48 Bonhams
Via: Bonhams

The stiff suspension helped with the car's handling quite a lot. The Tucker Torpedo was a car that liked to be driven hard and fast. The rubber suspension was exactly what it needed to make it perform at high speed.

3 It Was Very Safe

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Via: Bonhams

The Tucker 48 was pretty fast at the time, 0-60 in just 10 seconds. Not bad for a land yacht of the 1940s. But it was also very safe. The whole car has been designed with safety in mind, and it resulted in some very clever and innovative solutions to safety problems.

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Via: Bonhams

Preston Tucker wanted to put seatbelts in the car, but his advisors told him not to because it would give the impression that the car is unsafe. Insteadm he used roll-bars, a safety chamber for the passenger, extra padding on pretty much everywhere of the car, it had a collapsible steering wheel, and a windshield that's designed to pop out in the event of a crash. These were all put to the test in Indianapolis. Tucker and his team testing the car's endurance for 3 weeks with only one incident: Eddie Offutt rolled the car three times but walked away with a bruised elbow. The damaged Tucker 48 was driven away after its damaged wheel and tire was changed.

2 It Was Ahead Of Its Time

Tucker 48 Bonhams 9
Via: Bonhams

We've seen plenty of cars fail for being too far ahead of their time. This was also the case with the Tucker 48. Preston Tucker was a visionary, as was his team. And they worked tirelessly against all odds to make Tucker Torpedo a reality. While it wasn't the smooth sailing they hoped for, in the end, they give us one of the most incredible stories of all time.

Tucker 48 RM Sotheby's 5
Via: RM Sotheby's

It was a very short-lived car, but it accomplished something most couldn't even hope for. It deeply shook the industry and most of the design principles that were present on the Tucker 48 are at the core of today's automobile; The focus on safety, and the customer is what we have on our cars today.

Related: 10 Classic Muscle Cars Most Collectors Steer Clear Of

1 It Is Very Rare And Expensive

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Via: RM Sotheby's

While this car was a financial failure for all parties involved, it is not a bad car to keep in your collection today. Total production for Tucker 48 was just 51 cars. 47 Tucker Torpedos have survived until today, and all cars are accounted, most of them are kept by museums around the US.

Tucker 48 RM Sotheby's Monaco 2016 1.58 million
Via: RM Sotheby's

Almost all of the remaining Tuckers are in pristine condition, and they rarely come up for sale. But when they do, they make headlines and fetch big bucks. The blue Tucker pictured above was sold for $1.58 million at RM Sotheby's Monaco event in 2016. The highest price ever paid for a Tucker is $2.65 million. So, those who want one, should wait and keep their checkbook ready.