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Photo Credit: James Mann FROM THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM B. RUGER 1920 STUTZ SERIES H BEARCAT Chassis No. 5959 Engine No. 6001 Yellow with black fenders and brown leather upholstery and beige top Engine: four cylinder, in-line, 361ci, 80bhp at 2,400rpm; Gearbox: three-speed manual; Suspension: Hartford shock absorbers with semi-elliptic leaf springs front and rear; Brakes: rear mechanical, internal expanding. Right hand drive. In the century-long roll call of American automobiles, there have been few more memorably named than the Stutz Bearcat. It conjures up a stirring, hell-for-leather vision of a big roaring roadster, open to the elements and belting down a country road at a highly illegal rate of speed. Elemental in itself, the original Stutz Bearcat is equipped with two basic bucket seats, a big round bolster tank, a trunk bolted down in back and no-nonsense mudguards. Harry Stutz conceived the audacious plan of taking the very first car to bear his name to the inaugural Indianapolis 500 to prove its worth! He did just that, using a rugged and powerful Wisconsin T-head engine mated to his own transaxle. Despite many tire failures, the new car managed to place a quite respectable 11th against some very fast purpose-built race cars. To celebrate this showing, Stutz coined the famous slogan "The Car That Made Good in a Day". A year later the splendid Bearcat came along, giving the reigning sports car of the day, the quick and nimble Mercer Raceabout, a worthy rival on both the track and the highway. The first series T-head Bearcats were among the few true sports cars offered to the public for dual purpose high speed road or race use. The Bearcat was based on Harry Stutz's first Indy race car and was similarly fitted with a powerful T-head, Wisconsin built engine and the Stutz three speed transaxle, with sparse but attractive coachwork and fenders added. These wonderful machines had a look and a bellowing sound that could stir the heart on any sporting enthusiast. In the spring of 1915, Erwin G. 'Cannonball' Baker took a stock Bearcat minus its fenders and drove it solo from San Diego to New York City in 11 days, 7 hours and 15 minutes, breaking every existing cross country record. The roads of the day were in horrendous condition and the fact that the Stutz finished with only one broken shock absorber is a testament to the quality and durability of the Bearcat. Mr. Ruger purchased this 1920 Stutz Bearcat from the estate of Harry Dumville in May 1996. A very high quality restoration prior to purchase by Mr. Ruger had been undertaken to concours standards with the help of A.K. Miller of Stutz fame from a straight original car. Subsequently the car has only been used sparingly and indeed it is now showing only 41 miles on the odometer trip. The Bearcat is equipped with correct Stutz drum lights, S & M driver's spot lamp, large Klaxon electric horn on the driver's side and a Stutz Motometer featuring the famous slogan, "The car that made good in a day". A Stromberg down draft model HNO 3 carburetor is fitted along with Stutz Delco twin distributor caps. An exhaust cutout is located on the footwell alongside the starter button. The car is shod with 32 x 4½ Dunlop Cord tires in good condition and is fitted with Hartford shock absorbers front and rear. The Bearcat is eligible for racing and rallying activities with the Vintage Sports Car Club of America and other vintage sports car organizations as well as activities of the major antique auto clubs. Fittingly it wears both an AACA brass badge and an enamel Horseless Carriage Club badge on the headlamp bar. This represents a fine opportunity to acquire one of the legendary models of American vintage sports car history. WITHOUT RESERVE