Cars: 32
Images: 198
Pierce-Arrow
Established 1901: Buffalo, New York
Welcome to the Pierce-Arrow portfolio. Most sources begin by discussing how the George N. Pierce Co. produced gilded birdcages in the 19th century, and later bicycles. But to dispense with cocktail party anecdotes, the internal combustion Arrow and Great Arrow models quickly established the firm as a leader in this fledgling motorcar concept. From Victorian baubles to the forefront of the American automotive industry, Pierce-Arrow became the best among handbuilt cars in the brass era. No hyperbole need apply. Pierce-Arrow championed the six-cylinder motor and four-speed gearbox, pioneered a unique cast aluminum body, and created uncommonly fast automobiles of exceeding refinement that did not break. An exercise in conundrum, Pierce-Arrow innovated to meet its own obsessive standards, using techniques no one else used, yet remained conservative in their strategic vision.
Near completion, this portfolio fills a gap in contemporary online material. The best marque information lives in hard copy texts by Marc Ralston and Automobile Quarterly, old sources seldom referenced in digital media. 12cylinders uses these foundational texts to support a modern survey of a car not often romanced. We also provide an extensive look at the Silver Arrow, and in this case try to craft a gallery as art, not to simply amass images of an art piece. In total, our portfolio is at least adequate at the outset, capable of illustrating history while bringing to light surprising connections to contemporary life. Hopefully you find the product richer than average in its care and creativity.
Pierce 6½ hp Model K Stanhope Motorette, Unrestored, 1903
The expansion of Pierce's successful Motorette brought this premium runabout configuration, powered by Pierce's first in-house single-cylinder motor. This original, unrestored, operable example is a true rarity.
1 image
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce Arrow Model 15-J Rear-Entrance Tonneau, 1903
Early Pierce runabouts proved commercially viable, which emboldened the Pierce Motor Company to expand on the idea by building this, its first fully fledged motorcar.
4 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce Arrow Model 15-J Rear-Entrance Tonneau, 1904
The Arrow takes flight, now powered by Pierce's own 2-cylinder motor with a modernized radiator and bonnet. This Arrow is one of two 1904 models remaining, and one of only three Système Panhard cars from the transitional years of '03 to '04.
6 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce Great Arrow Model 28-32NN Tonneau, Unrestored, 1906
David Donald provides childhood memories of this, one of two surviving 1906 Great Arrow cars, later purchased by industrial designer Dick Teague.
1 image
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 36-UU Miniature Tonneau, 1909
Discovered and restored by Sam Baily, Jr., this Pierce-Arrow started the collector car movement in the United States.
5 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 48-SS Demi-Tonneau, #7450, 1910
The sole surviving 1910 48-SS Demi-Tonneau, chassis #7540 is a rare four-place roadster based on the five-passenger touring car.
5 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 48-SS Seven-Passenger Touring, #7940, 1910
The Pierce-Arrow touring car nears completion. Chassis #7940 brings with it plenty of history and connections to mid-century American highway development (parallel to my own family history).
5 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 36-UU Miniature Tonneau Victoria, 1911
Last of the Miniature Tonneaus. Last of the Victoria-top cars. This Model 36-UU says goodbye to two antique traditions, but also ushers in modern updates typical of its successors.
2 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 36-UU Five-Passenger Touring, 1912
The complete car. Pierce-Arrow settle into a comfortable stride as David Fergusson's engineering proves durable enough to last the decade.
4 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 38-C-2 Runabout, Unrestored, 1914
First year for the famous fender-mount headlamps. This example is a two-owner, unrestored car, and rare for its runabout body.
6 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 38-C-3 Town Car Landau, 1915
A New York story about the Fahnestock family surrounds this immaculate landau.
7 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 38-C-4 Five-Passenger Touring, #36793, 1916
This model year represents the high point for the all-aluminum cast body, which, combined with bespoke engineering, created what was arguably the best-driving touring car on the market.
6 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 48-B-4 Four-Passenger Touring, #15568, 1917
George M. Cohan's sporting Pierce-Arrow, a skiff-like touring car restored in its original colors and dual-windshield configuration.
1 image
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 31 Seven-Passenger Touring, #312064, 1919
The "Cheaper by the Dozen" film car from 1950 (and its 1952 sequel), we depict this touring car as it appeared on screen, weathered but straight.
2 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 51 Vestibule Suburban, President Woodrow Wilson, #511121, 1919
A steadfast companion to the 28th president, this Model 51 is much more than a state artefact. The car left office with Wilson in 1921 and became his daily connection to life beyond his Washington DC home.
3 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 66-A-4 Touring, Don Lee Coach & Body Works, #A4562, 1919
A very clever Harley J. Earl design created for actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, this car beared witness to one of the most egregious cases of cancel culture in Hollywood history.
7 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 33 Enclosed-Drive Limousine, #336048, 1922
The Babe Ruth legend limousine, probably not a true story, but a clever yarn nonetheless. Read on for an uncanny "Usual Suspects" hypothesis.
6 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 33 Touring Sedan, #332157, 1922
The Model 33 stands for survival, the lone model that dragged Pierce-Arrow out of recession following World War I.
1 image
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 80 Five-Passenger Sedan, #8013205, 1926
A departure from tradition, the Model 80 broadened Pierce-Arrow's market and delivered a shot of revenue growth that, however short-lived, kept the marque afloat.
4 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 80 Runabout, #8011609, 1926
A popular 2/4 place car shown with playful wear, this Model 80 Runabout is the perfect car for the era, exactly what the public want and just what Pierce-Arrow need.
11 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 36 Seven-Passenger Sedan, Paramount Pictures, 1928
Well known as Marlene Dietrich's Hollywood cabby, this sedan is perhaps more remarkable for its discovery and restoration by Ron Blissit.
6 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model B Five-Passenger Sedan, Unrestored, 1930
A proper example of a popular sedan from the Studebaker transition, this Model B demonstrates a new direction with still-familiar vestiges.
4 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model B Sport Phaeton, #2025271, 1930
The Sport Phaeton is a diminutive dual-cowl design built for comfortable touring. This chassis fills a long-standing omission in the portfolio, a car that crossed the continent and traveled the seas.
8 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 53 Touring Sedan, #2050009, 1932
Continuing a familiar theme, this Touring Sedan represents Pierce-Arrow's response to the multi-cylinder race, fitted with the first version of the Karl Wise-designed V-12.
6 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 1242 Convertible Coupe Roadster, #3100006, 1933
A return to form, Pierce-Arrow recapture independence and produce automobiles of uncompromised quality. This rare V-12 roadster embodies a spark of classic era brilliance defined by land speed records and the inimitable Silver Arrow.
12 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 1242 Convertible Coupe Roadster, #3100014, 1933
A quick look at another of three extant Convertible Coupe Roadsters, this one with strong connections to Pennsylvania history.
2 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow, Car No. 1, #2575015, 1933
The 12cylinders cornerstone, a shape that combines two pivotal design trends years before either took hold, powered by a V-12 that captured 14 land speed records in 1932. The Silver Arrow is artistically and technically phenomenal.
30 images
Mar 3, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 840A Convertible Sedan, LeBaron, #2080338, 1934
Among Mr. Charles Gillet's classics, this stately open car is the coachbuilt pinnacle of the straight-8 Pierce-Arrow, and an excuse to remark on a veteran of the Greatest Generation.
18 images
Mar 25, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 1240A Salon Twelve Silver Arrow, #400229, 1934
In abbreviated form, the production variant uses few of the Silver Arrow show car's trend-setting elements, opting for a big platform and simple lines.
4 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 845 Convertible Coupe Roadster, 1935
A longtime Baltimore car introduces us to 1935 Pierce-Arrow style, only subtly updated from 1934 in the midst of crippling financial turmoil.
5 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 1245 Convertible Coupe Roadster, 1935
The 1935 Chicago Auto Show car, this V-12 is the elegant swansong of Karl Wise, its creator, who along with Roy Faulkner leaves Pierce-Arrow amidst financial collapse.
6 images
Feb 11, 2024
Pierce-Arrow Model 1245 Salon Twelve Silver Arrow, #405002, 1935
Another look at the production Silver Arrow, this 1935 model demonstrating its second and final year, by which time very few elected to buy the big coupe.
10 images
Feb 11, 2024