A Singular Statement: The 1932 Chrysler Imperial Speedster and its enduring legacy

EMCs are like MOCs in the early 2000s. They are state of the art in 1/43 but expensive. I remember Bob Hooper telling me he couldn’t make much profit on his MOCs because of their price. He told me he should be charging $300 for a T&C Barrell Back but “no one will pay that, so I try to sell them for $250.” At the time, that was over twice the price of a Brooklin and I thought those were expensive!  

This is a beautiful model and one I added a few years ago for its historical significance. After looking at your wonderful photos, I went to see why I didn't have photos of mine. In my database I had noted that the rear plate had come loose in the box and the hood ornament was slightly bent. I'm guessing that because of its delicate nature, I didn't make repairs at the time, I'll need to muster up some bravery and see what can be done about those issues.

"1/43?"   Wow-wee ...  AGAIN!  😮 😲 

I see nothing out of scale, and what I do see is pretty impressive:   

- Headlight wires.

- Rear brake drum & drive chain.

- Tire lettering & size detail.

- Crisp badging.

- Rear spare belt-buckle tie down.

- Open exhaust pipe.

- Scale wire rims.

- Etc....

@jkuvakas Love the wood effects!

Found this older post, what was the color before Sam Mann painted the car in the current plum color?

I own the B&G replica, but just bought a damaged one for a project.

This picture is from the internet, I do not own this book.

Some interesting details from my pictures

@jkuvakas  Great detail and I look forward to learning more about this model.

@chav   Sam and his wife also own the Duesenberg Graber, as well as two other PB winners.

'Sam, along with his wife of 43 years, Emily, is the only living being with four Best of Show trophies from the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. He took the top award with a 1932 Chrysler LeBaron-body Speedster—a car designed and built for Walter Chrysler himself—in 1991; a 1938 Delage D8-120 de Villars Cabriolet in 1996; a 1934 Voisin C15 Ets Saliot Roadster in 2002; and a 1937 Delage Portout Aerodynamic Coupe in 2005. He keeps them all—along with a Duesenberg that Carole Lombard and Clark Gable romanced in, and scores of other dazzling classic cars—in his garage in Englewood, N.J., where he resides when he’s not at his Malibu home.'

Posted by: @gdh

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@chav   Sam and his wife also own the Duesenberg Graber, as well as two other PB winners.

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'Sam, along with his wife of 43 years, Emily, is the only living being with four Best of Show trophies from the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. He took the top award with a 1932 Chrysler LeBaron-body Speedster—a car designed and built for Walter Chrysler himself—in 1991; a 1938 Delage D8-120 de Villars Cabriolet in 1996; a 1934 Voisin C15 Ets Saliot Roadster in 2002; and a 1937 Delage Portout Aerodynamic Coupe in 2005. He keeps them all—along with a Duesenberg that Carole Lombard and Clark Gable romanced in, and scores of other dazzling classic cars—in his garage in Englewood, N.J., where he resides when he’s not at his Malibu home.'

Yes, the Grabber and the Pourtout Delage are just behind the Chrysler on the picture above, Sam Mann collection was featured at the 2018 St John's Concours d Elegance where I took these pictures. On the picture below, the Chrysler is behind.

GLM made a fine replica of that Graber Duesey.

Also, I seem to recall the Chrysler model also came with top up, and also in gray.