SUPER D-500: The Legendary Virgil Exner’s Top Dodge
February 26, 2018
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
Written by independent automotive journalist Tom Jensen
This pristine 1959 Dodge Custom Royal Super D-500 will be selling at No Reserve as part of the John Staluppi Cars of Dreams Collection at the 16th Annual Palm Beach Auction, April 12-15, 2018.
The late 1950s were credited with hitting the high-water mark in bold and audacious designs in the American automobile industry, as Detroit’s Big Three sought to one-up each other with a combination of bright colors and arresting two-tone paint schemes, big tail fins and massive horsepower. Oh, and chrome. Lots of chrome.
It all came to a head in 1959, the year Chrysler, Ford and General Motors all unleashed spectacular examples of designs pushed to the limits, as if the motto of the day was, “Go big or go home.”
Dodge, like the other automakers, went big in ’59. Every single thing about the Chrysler subsidiary’s top-of-the-line convertible was big in 1959, even its name. The 1959 Dodge Custom Royal Super D-500 combined serious performance, serious comfort and over-the-top styling from the legendary Virgil Exner in an irresistible package.
And this one, from the John Staluppi Cars of Dreams Collection, has been meticulously restored to the highest standard of quality. It will sell at No Reserve, meaning the high bid gets it no matter what the final price, at the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Auction, April 12-15.
In terms of performance, the limited-edition D-500 had it going on, thanks to Dodge’s famed 383ci wedge V8 engine that produces 345 horsepower, in large part due to its pair of fat four-barrel carburetors. All that power was transmitted through Chrysler’s TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission.
When new, the D-500 would accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 8 seconds flat, which was impressive, especially for a full-sized convertible way back in 1959.
In addition to the big motor, this D-500 has every available option offered that year, including power seats with swivel option, Autronic Eye, power windows, auto-dimming rearview mirror, and power steering and power brakes.
And those colors! Nothing says 1959 quite like a two-tone, black-over-yellow color scheme on the body, with yellow, solid black and striped black hues throughout the interior.
As with any high-end collector-car, the quality of the restoration is critically important to its value. And on that front, this D-500 has the goods. It was first restored in 2005 by Tom White, owner of the nationally award-winning firm Whitehall Auto Restorations in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
The D-500 was returned to White in 2017 for a full mechanical and cosmetic servicing, with the interior restored by Jonathan Chase of Skin and Bones Restorations. All of the work inside and out was performed to the highest standards of excellence.
As a result, this D-500 has won multiple awards at various car shows and concours, including the Concours d’Elegance of America at Meadow Brook (Michigan), the Greenwich (Connecticut) Concours d’Elegance and the Newport (Rhode Island) Concours d’Elegance. This car was also part of a special display at the 2017 New England Concours d’Elegance and was featured twice in Hemmings magazine.
This amazing 1959 Dodge Custom Royal Super D-500 has it all: An award-winning restoration from one of the nation’s top Mopar specialists; provenance from the John Staluppi Cars of Dreams Collection; the most powerful engine available in that model; classic Virgil Exner styling and, of course, those classic 1950s colors.
This D-500 will delight its next owner – could it be you?
To preview more vehicles from the John Staluppi Cars of Dreams Collection, click HERE.