Equipment
331cid/160hp Cadillac V-8, floor shift 3-speed, hub caps, Firestone whitewalls, bucket seats, fender skirts.
Condition
Represented as the last of 16 of these cars built by Frank Kurtis at his shop in Glendale, California, before production moved to Illinois and the car was rebadged as the Muntz Jet. Bought new by Indycar team owner Jack Hinkle, who loaned it back to Kurtis for use in the 1954 film "Johnny Dark," starring Tony Curtis. Concours restored by Frank’s son Arlen Kurtis in the 1990s. Good older paint and chrome, though the trim pieces on the nose and tail don’t fit flush to the body. Nor do the fender skirts. Two-inch paint crack on the driver’s door. Good interior other than a cracked center cap on the steering wheel. A very rare home-grown sports car in usable, mostly good condition.
Market commentary
Though Frank Kurtis is better known for his success at Indy, he also built sports cars for road and track. But unless it's either an important car from a well-known brand or in exceptional condition, '50s cars in general aren't selling that well at the moment. This one, for example, sold for $263,200 at Gooding's Amelia Island auction in 2019. It doesn't look to be in appreciably worse condition since then, so a price that's less than half as much must hurt.