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Peter Stengel - Hollywood, California 1950s -1980s
Peter Stengel was an heir to the Bache family fortune.
Post-War US coach-builder, Hollywood; in the late Fifties he took over the former Dutch Darrin (post-war) custom
shop where the Kaiser-Darrin sports cars had been built; he designed and built an "Estate Carriage" on the 1960
Cadillac chassis; hand-built in England, the rear compartment was trimmed in formica imitating wood-grain; it had a
360 ci. Cadillac motor giving 325HP at 4800 rpm, wheel base was 130", and length 225". Have photo and drawings of
other Stengel proposal, CLCA 1980, inside rear cover. Cost of wagon was $14,000.
xxxxx One of the first cars Coachcraft Ltd. built was started late in
1940 and finished in1941 for its designer Peter Stengel, heir to the Bache
family fortune, with a price tag of $6,000. According to Rudy's son Bill,
who, as of this writing, still operated Coachraft, Stengel's car was a
complete ground-up job built on a 1939-40 Ford truck chassis and fitted with
an Eddie Meyer-tuned flathead Ford V8. xxxxxx Stengel (USA) special
town-car design for H.E. Shaikh Shakhbut bin Sultan, the Sultan of Abu
Dhabi; it is not know whether this car was actually built; all I have is an
impressive color rendering of the designer's drawing. Peter Stengel is a
Hollywood designer. His offices are [were?] located at 8610 Sherwood Drive,
Los Angeles. He specializes[ed] in custom Coach work on Cadillac, Lincoln
and Rolls-Royce chassis, that was made to order in London, England, by
artisan craftsmen and journeymen specialist coach builders. This town-car
design was used for promotional purposes; on the back of the color postcard,
presumably printed in 1966, it was stated: Over one-quarter century of
experience and studious application in automotive aesthetics; the
integration of unsurpassed quality, exquisite craftsmanship, embodying
correct and superior design. xxxxx Letter from P. Stengel of Stengel
Carrossier, London (Peter Stengel). Mentions his time in California. Also
states that his former partner, the late A.F. MacNeil, former director of
James Young Ltd. MacNeil had previously worked at Gurney Nutting. He states
that he sold Rolls-Royce’s in California in the late1950s and early 1960s.
-- A.F. MacNeil, who designed some of the most impressive coachwork produced
over several decades, had been brought in to James Young from de Havillands,
where he had spent the war years. Previously he had been stylist and chief
designer with J. Gurney Nutting. James Young ceased coachbuilding in 1967,
so I assume that he teamed up with Stengel the same year.
Stengel is planning a “Phantom Infinity” P-00 that will
be a basic Silver-Arrow with a 10” wheelbase extension and a longer hood to
rid the car of the typical shrunken-head Corniche aesthetic. Ours will be a
sedanica deville of the brougham or classic town brougham deville style.
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