Going In Style! 1988 Excalibur Limousine
More than 30 years after its passing, the Excalibur is remembered for its quirky styling, fashioned after a 1928 Mercedes-Benz SSK. What most folks don’t remember is that it was an effort started while Studebaker was in business. That company’s downturn in fortunes led the developer, Studebaker designer Brooks Stevens, to form his own company to build what would be about 3,500 cars until around 1990. This stretch limousine is one the rarer Excalibur’s and is said to be based mechanically on a 1988 Lincoln Town Car. Right out of the playbook for The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, this oddity is in Newark, New Jersey, and available here on craigslist for $7,995. Thanks for the heads up on this interesting machine, T.J.!
Stevens cooked up the first Excalibur as a 2-seat roadster for Studebaker. Using a Gran Turismo Hawk chassis and V8 engine, the car appeared at shows in 1963, was an instant hit and a few orders were received before Studebaker pulled the plug on U.S. manufacturing later that year. Since Stude’s finances by then were strapped, the idea for the car was scrapped, so Stevens formed his own company to build them in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
At first, the cars drew mechanically from the Chevrolet parts bin (as had Studebaker in its final days), but other brands would contribute to the production of the cars until Excalibur first ran out of gas in 1986. A couple of revivals took place before the final plug was pulled in 1990. Folks like comedian Phyllis Diller were the target audience and she loved the cars so much that she bought four of them.
We don’t know that much about the stretch limo version of the Excalibur though it’s not a conversion. Apparently, it and a few others were built from scratch atop a 1980s Lincoln platform. The car is loaded with the kinds of goodies you’d expect in a luxury people mover, including a service bar, driver-passenger intercom, moon roof, TV and entertainment system, and more. We don’t know the history of this specific limo (maybe it was one of ole Phyllis’ cars?) but it’s said to have 248,000 miles, which is not exactly minor.
The Excalibur Limo was equipped to carry six folks and runs well, not needing anything more than a “few minor tweaks” (whatever that means). It may or may not need new batteries, and then you could use it to start your own Uber-style limo service!
Auctions Ending Soon
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now23 hours$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now24 hours$4,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now1 days$2,000
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now2 days$11,000
1974 Datsun 260ZBid Now4 days$750
Comments
One … UGLY ..car !!! Yuck !!! 🤢🤮
I’ll take “Cars Never to be Caught Dead In” for $1,000 Alex…
It’s so terribly important that we devote space here for opinions on a car’s styling.
I feel psychic. I am predicting a bunch of hateful comments.
“Say something nice about this”
I,er,um………
Glorious 🙌 👠 💅 🪞 🍾 🍻 🥂
Okay, even I have my limits, too much of something generally isn’t good. Alice Preston ( who?) must be elated that one still exists. I never heard of them, but apparently, only 2 were made( some say 21) before Excalibur went bankrupt in 1990. These listed for $110,000 new, almost double what the roadster cost. I like it because it’s one of the many industrial accolades of Wisconsin, and am proud to be a cheesehead,,in Colorado.
Actually considered an Excaliber back in the ’70s, along with Nate Altman’s Avanti … company comptroller told me the boss would fire me if I bought either – I paid all the bills … ended up buying a Corvette …
I think I saw Don King exiting out of one of these, back in the day.
I would not botch about it until I owned it. And then . . . . .
I love the Excalibur overall, but this limo does not look good. I would love to own either the 2 door or the 4 door, but I would pass on this one. My first thought when I saw this was “pimp mo bile” I don’t know who made the car like the Excalibur that was modeled after the 1934 Mercedes 500K, but that was the one I really liked. However, I was surprised by the price of $8k for this one… thought it would be much higher.
Couldn’t possibly be any less attractive.
So buy it for $8,000 spend $5000 converting the inside to have a bed stove and fridge and sell it for $25,000 to one of those California people who want to live in a van and work remotely
Got to buy a pink hat with a feather before buying it.
Uh, that is NOT an Excalibur.
Charles – you’re absolutely correct – this is definitely not an Excalibur
Troy is right.
VAN LIFE
Walmart would never guess you are sleeping in it.
Having bought, renovated and resold over 200 Excaliburs over the last 49 years, Charles is correct this is NOT an Excalibur! Excaliburs we’re all factory built in West Allis Milwaukee Wisconson on their own custom frame using new GM power trains and suspensions. At one time they were the fourth largest auto manufacturer in the US.
Double barf. This pig doesn’t even have lipstick.
And only 248k miles, the interior is very dated.
Install a bed, a stove and a fridge and live in it.
The gap fits of the hood and trunk are measured in inches not millimeters
It’s odd that the seller doesn’t even know what he/she has! This is NOT an Excalibur; some folks refer to every neoclassic as an Excalibur. Excaliburs were high-quality cars, and even their larger four-doors and limos looked great. This one? Not so great, in my opinion.
At least they didn’t say “I know what I have” this time.
Mileage would indicate owned by someone who needed to travel widely but was fearful of flying. Not a bad way to travel, given a driver (I couldn’t spell
chauffeur) and the time.
@Home
If it’s not an Excalibur, what is it?
I think Excalibur started with the Excalibur J in 1952.
The color is nice…