REACH FOR THE STARS
Drive like a Jedi as vintage motor owned by Star Wars legend goes up for sale… but it costs £1.5 million
The motor was even the subject of a popular 1980s film
A CLASSIC motor once owned by a Star Wars legend can now be yours... if you can rustle up £1.5million.
Petrolheads can drive like a Jedi with a 1948 Tucker ’48 car that was once owned by George Lucas.
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The iconic set of wheels was created by American motoring entrepreneur Preston Tucker, who is perhaps best known from the 1988 Hollywood film biopic Tucker: The Man and His Dream, with Lucas as executive producer.
The Tucker '48 was built from Tucker's vision of an American family sedan - with a particular emphasis on safety.
The car has a number of features that were way ahead of their time during the early 1940s.
That includes a frameless, uni-body structure, pop-out safety glass for the windscreen, a centre headlight that turns with the steering, a padded dashboard, and a crash compartment ahead of the front passengers.
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Lucas was likely the fifth owner of the car when he purchased it in 1982, which had just 13,391 miles on the clock.
He then kept the car at the famous Skywalker Ranch for many years, eventually selling it in 2005.
Only 51 examples of the motor were manufactured, which each model made boasting an improvement to its features - which means each vehicle is nearly unique.
Lucas' former car is just third example that was produced, and has chassis No. 1003.
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The motor is up for auction via Broad Arrow Auction at Northern California’s Monterey Jet Center on August 14 and 15 during the Monterey Car Week.
The listing added: “The body is finished in the original 600 Royal Maroon colourway, and the interior is dressed in 940 Beige.
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“The car’s history has been extensively documented by marque experts Mark Lieberman and Mike Tucker, supported by the Cammack Tucker Archives at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey, Pa.
“Chassis No. 1003 was likely completed after March of 1948, and it has numerous details distinguishing it from later siblings, including a modified Cord transaxle used in 13 of the first 15 cars.
“Inside, the dash features silver instead of gold trim, and presciently, no ashtrays are fitted.
“Since George sold it, the car has undergone a comprehensive restoration, including body and paint work by Bata Mataja’s B.A.D. Company in Sun Valley, California."
Martyn Donaldson, a well-known Tucker expert and past historian of the Tucker Automobile Club of America, performed extensive mechanical, electrical, and detail work on the car.
Talking about the experience behind the wheel, Martyn says: “You can actually drive them quite comfortably because you have a light aluminium aircraft engine in the rear.
“It’s like a big [Porsche] 911.”
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