The Tucker Torpedo was the original design for a new automobile for the Tucker Corporation, founded by Preston Tucker. During WW2, Tucker designed the Tucker Combat Car, a high-speed turreted armored car, featuring a power-operated turret and a Packard V-12 engine, propelling it to speeds of 100 MPH. For this, the Army rejected the vehicle, as they believed it was too fast. (Of course, now we have fast attack vehicles lol) The military was impressed with Tucker's turret, and he hoped it could be fitted to PT Boats and B-18 Bolo bombers, but these dreams never materialized and no Tucker Turrets were ever fitted on any aircraft or ships, contrary to popular belief. He then formed the Tucker Aviation Corporation, where he designed the XP-57 "Peashooter", a light and fast pursuit fighter with the engine behind the cockpit, similar to the P-39. Financial problems prevented completion of a sole prototype, and the plane was never built. Tucker had an indestructible spirit, and his wartime failures did not stop his enthusiasm for his ideas. He created the new Tucker Corporation automobile company. The war had deprived the American populace of new automobiles, and the Big Three(Ford, GM and Chrysler) were in no hurry to create any new cars. Tucker began to dream of a "car of tomorrow", one that was unlike anything on the road. His first concept appeared in 1946. It was a radical design, with three headlights. The fenders(and headlights) turned with the wheels, so the driver had light during turns. The car also had many safety features, including safety belts in all seats, pop-out glass, a built in roll-bar, and a padded dash. The concept car was dubbed the Torpedo. Tucker hired a designer named Alex Tremulis to finalize the design. Tremulis scrapped the rotating fenders, and made the central headlight the one that turned. The car was also renamed the Tucker 48, as "Torpedo" reminded the public of the war. The car kept the safety features, and also had crumple zones and shatter-proof glass that could pop out in a wreck. The controls were within reach of the driver, at a time when they were spread across the dashboard, and the glovebox was moved to the doors to provide a safe "crash chamber" to protect passengers. Tucker is now famous for this innovation. The car was rear-engined and rear-wheel drive, like VW and Tatra models. Tucker purchased a closed B-29 bomber factory to build the cars. The unveiling of the first Tucker 48 was plagued with problems, however, as two of the car's independent suspension arms snapped under the weight of the extremely heavy prototype. The suspension issues were fixed, but the car could not drive backward, and the engine was extremely loud. Tucker told the band to play extra loud to drown out the noise. For production cars, Tucker swapped the unreliable engine for the Franklin O-335 air-cooled engine, originally built for Bell 47 helicopters. Tucker purchased the entire engine company, cancelled all of its engine contracts(65% of all postwar aircraft engine contracts, by the way) and began to install them in his cars. Money was tight, and there were too few cars being made, so Tucker began an Accessories Program, where people could buy luggage, seat covers, or radios for the car and secure a place on the waiting list. The cars were tested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where one car rolled three times at 95 MPH. The driver survived with only a few bruises, and the car could still be driven. Tucker's safety features had worked. There were still no cars being sold, and company was soon investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commision. Tucker was put on trial for conspiracy to defraud, among other things, and although he was found not guilty on all accounts, the trial was reported by the press and Tucker's name was mud. At the start of the trial, Tucker had only built only 37 Tucker 48s, but a group of 300 loyal employees returned and finished 13 more. Many worked without pay. Tucker still did not let his spirit be crushed. He traveled to Brazil and designed a sports car called the Carioca, taking many design features from the 48, including a third headlight. But Tucker could not stop lung cancer, and in 1956 he died due to pneumonia as a complication of the cancer. A fabulous movie about the whole thing, "Tucker: The Man and his Dream", directed by Francis Ford Coppola, a Tucker owner, was released in 1988. It depicts the belief by many Tucker fans and owners that the Big Three was involved in the Tucker scandal, which I personally believe. If Tucker was successful, he could've upturned them, rising as the sole "Big One" of automotive manufacturers. The Tucker Torpedo I have drawn was never built, like I said before, but 47 of the 50 Tucker 48s still exist. They are incredibly rare and worth a LOT of money.
Art by me. DO NOT STEAL! My second 3D car art.
