Years ago, a friend and I were in an old Dodge plumber’s van on our way to the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance, doing about 65 mph on Interstate five, when a magnificent, classic, close coupled sedan blew past us. We were surprised, because though it appeared to be stock, and indeed magnificently restored, it was leaving us in its rear view mirror. It wasn’t until we got to the show that we discovered it was a 1932 Marmon V16 Victoria Coupe.
Turns out it was also an entry at Pebble, and its owner had driven it there rather than having it trailered in the usual manner. I chatted with him, and asked him how fast he had been going. He replied that he kept it at around 80 mph on the long straightaways, and that its 490 cubic inch engine wasn’t even working hard. I learned later that the Marmon V16 was capable of 106 miles per hour, so I suppose it wasn’t.
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