1932 Marmon Sixteen Victoria Coupe

Slowly examine one of these cars from every angle and the true genius of Walter Dorwin Teague Jr.’s design is apparent

by Dave Brownell

Howard Marmon was a brilliant engineer; he completed his first automobile in 1902 at the age of 23. It was remarkably advanced for its time, featuring an overhead-valve, air-cooled engine. This would be the harbinger of bigger and better things to come, as Marmon continued to modify and improve his automobile. Nine years later, Marmon’s mechanical genius was forever enshrined by a win at the Indianapolis 500. It came in a long-tailed Marmon Wasp, which was the first car in the winner’s circle at the very first race at the Brickyard in 1911. Some 50 more victories would follow over the next two years, earning Marmon an enviable competition record. Financial success did not come so easily. A road-going version of the Wasp—called the Model 49—proved to be an excellent automobile, but at $5,000 a copy, sales were slow. Later models were even better—1916’s Model 34 offered a host of innovative features including the most extensive use of aluminum to date. In...