(Arizona Concours d'Elegance)
One of the most elegant and evocative automobiles of the classic era, a rare 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow, will be featured at the second annual Arizona Concours d'Elegance on Jan. 11, 2015, at the historic Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix.
The Silver Arrow, one of just five built and three known to survive, will appear on the landscaped inner lawns of the Biltmore as part of a special Pierce-Arrow featured class for the 2015 Arizona Concours. The magnificent sedan was formerly part of the late William F. Harrah’s extensive automobile collection in Reno, Nevada, and was fully restored by the world-famous facility. The car is now owned by the Academy of Art University Automobile Museum in San Francisco.
“The Arizona Concours d’Elegance is honored to welcome this wonderful Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow, which will be one of the highlights of the 2015 Arizona Concours,” said Kevin Cornish, executive director of the Concours. “The legendary Silver Arrow is one of the most beautiful cars ever made, and its Art Deco design will complement that of the Arizona Biltmore architecture.”
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Created by Philip Wright of Pierce-Arrow’s design team, the Silver Arrow embodied advanced concepts of streamlined design while staying true to the Art Deco styling ethos of the period. The Silver Arrow was introduced by the luxury automaker at the New York Auto show in January 1933, where its revolutionary appearance stunned the crowd with what seemed to be an exciting vision of the future.
Indeed, the Silver Arrow was a milestone of automotive design, changing how automakers styled their most-important cars from then on. The slogan for the car’s introduction at the 1933 auto show said it all: “Suddenly it’s 1940!”
The Silver Arrow is a car of monumental size, though its fluid body lines create a feeling of speed and lightness. The engine is a powerful V12 that gave the sedan an impressive top speed of 115 mph.
Pierce-Arrow of Buffalo, New York, was struggling from the effects of The Great Depression when it unveiled the Silver Arrow, hoping to gain much-needed attention for its overall lineup of luxury automobiles. The Silver Arrow was certainly exclusive, priced at a then-exorbitant $10,000, which would explain why only five were ever sold. Pierce-Arrow did not survive the economic rigors of the 1930s, but is remembered among the greatest marques of the classic era.
Today, the Silver Arrow is recognized as one of the finest automotive designs of any period, and its appearance on the grass at the Arizona Concours d’Elegance should be a memorable experience for all who attend.
The Arizona Concours d’Elegance, a premier automotive event that serves as the start of the famous Classic Car Week in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area, benefits Make-A-Wish Arizona, the founding chapter of the national organization that grants wishes for children facing life-threatening medical conditions.
For more information about the Arizona Concours d’Elegance, including ticket sales, seewww.arizonaconcours.com.