Dream Rides - Excalibur
- Jim the Caveman
- May 17, 2017
- 1 min read
A prototype premièred at the New York City Auto Show in 1964, fitted on a Studebaker Lark Daytona chassis and using a 290 hp (220 kW) Studebaker R2 289 V8 supercharged engine. Studebaker almost immediately ceased its operations, ending the availability of that engine.
Stevens subsequently obtained engines from General Motors through his friends, GM executives Ed Cole and "Bunkie" Knudsen. These were Chevrolet 327s in 300 bhp (220 kW) Corvette tune, making the 2,100 lb (950 kg) Excalibur a strong performer. With the standard 3.31:1 rear axle, acceleration from 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) took less than six seconds.[3] Projected top speed was 134 mph.
A little over 3,200 Excalibur cars were built, all in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The American comedian Phyllis Diller was a notable proponent of the Excalibur automobile; she owned four of them.
The company failed in 1986, but was revived several times. Production of the Excalibur continued until 1997.
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