Pegaso 1952 Z-102 Cupola
Best known for producing trucks and buses, Spanish automaker Pegaso also built high-end sports cars from 1951-’58. The exact quantity produced (believed to be 80) remains something of a mystery, but only two “Cupola” models, with a distinctive and oversize rear window, side exhausts and partially skirted fenders, were ever built. Of these, chassis 0102 150 0121, a car first shown at the 1953 New York Motor Show, is the sole survivor, and, on Sunday, the stunning yellow coupe, now owned by the Louwman Museum.
The car’s radical styling wasn’t penned by a single designer; instead, Spanish students were asked to sketch what cars would look like in the future, and the resulting design cues were brought to life by in-house coachbuilder Enasa. For display in New York, chassis 0102 150 0121 was painted in the same livery seen at Amelia Island, down to the red tires.
Power for the Cupola came from a normally aspirated, double-overhead camshaft, 2.5-liter 90-degree V-8, rated at 165 horsepower and 136 pound-feet of torque. It was shifted through a five-speed manual transmission. The car’s compact size and relatively light weight (below 2,900 pounds) would have delivered engaging performance.
Pegaso 1952 Z-102 Cupola
Best known for producing trucks and buses, Spanish automaker Pegaso also built high-end sports cars from 1951-’58. The exact quantity produced (believed to be 80) remains something of a mystery, but only two “Cupola” models, with a distinctive and oversize rear window, side exhausts and partially skirted fenders, were ever built. Of these, chassis 0102 150 0121, a car first shown at the 1953 New York Motor Show, is the sole survivor, and, on Sunday, the stunning yellow coupe, now owned by the Louwman Museum.
The car’s radical styling wasn’t penned by a single designer; instead, Spanish students were asked to sketch what cars would look like in the future, and the resulting design cues were brought to life by in-house coachbuilder Enasa. For display in New York, chassis 0102 150 0121 was painted in the same livery seen at Amelia Island, down to the red tires.
Power for the Cupola came from a normally aspirated, double-overhead camshaft, 2.5-liter 90-degree V-8, rated at 165 horsepower and 136 pound-feet of torque. It was shifted through a five-speed manual transmission. The car’s compact size and relatively light weight (below 2,900 pounds) would have delivered engaging performance.