Howard Hughes’ 1953 Buick Roadmaster, part of the Ron Pratte Collection. Photos courtesy Barrett-Jackson.
The last time the custom 1953 Buick Roadmaster built for billionaire, recluse and germaphobe Howard Hughes crossed the auction stage, a three-way bidding war produced a selling price of $1.65 million, a record for a production Buick sold at auction. Next month, the Pastel Blue sedan will hit the block again as part of the Ron Pratte Collection sale, but can Barrett-Jackson expect to achieve a similar result the second time around?
Though the Buick sedan may look ordinary (something that Hughes reportedly relished, as it granted him anonymity on the roads of Southern California), beneath the skin it sports a few custom touches. The car’s 12-volt electrical system has been supplemented with a separate 24-volt system, used to power auxiliary systems and occasionally to jump-start aircraft. Its ventilation system has been removed and replaced with a custom air-conditioning system, powered by the 24v electrical setup (allowing it to function independent of the engine) and complete with a dust trap and an antibacterial filter. So obsessed was Hughes with maintaining a germ-free environment that only the driver’s window is functional; the rest are purposely sealed, as are the firewall vents.
The Buick was said to be one of Hughes’ favorite cars, driven whenever the eccentric captain of industry stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The space needed for the air conditioning and filtration system, plus the four 6-volt batteries that made up the cars 24v electric system, dominated the Buick’s once-cavernous trunk, leaving little room for cargo. That made the Continental kit, crafted by Hughes Aircraft, more of a necessity than just a stylish add-on.
It’s said that the Buick was the last car driven by Hughes, although documenting such a claim would prove difficult, given the man’s reclusive ways in his final decades. It’s known that Hughes also owned a light-blue 1954 Chrysler New Yorker, also equipped with a similar air filtration system, and it’s likely that the billionaire had personal transportation at each of the hotel properties he owned or frequented. Fittingly, Hughes (who then weighed just 90 pounds, despite his six-foot, four-inch height) died in the air, while being flown from Acapulco, Mexico to Houston, Texas, for medical care.
The Howard Hughes Roadmaster is said to wear its original Pastel Blue and Seafoam paint, and its well-preserved interior is believed to be original as well. Just 5,339 miles show on the odometer, a statement, perhaps, of how little time Hughes remained in one place. Barrett-Jackson doesn’t provide pre-auction estimates, and assigning a value to a car as unique as this 1953 Buick is difficult, if not impossible. Will it see the same fevered bidding as it did in April of 2005? Will Ron Pratte turn a profit on the car, or at the very least, break even? We’ll find out when the Buick crosses the stage on January 17 in Scottsdale.
Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale sale will take place on January 10-18, 2015, with the first vehicles from the Ron Pratt Collection crossing the stage on Tuesday, January 13. For additional details, visit Barrett-Jackson.com.
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