The Ambassador Eight Special Cabriolet is the sort of a car to make you see Nash in an entirely new light—which was exactly the point behind its creation. Nash had rebounded nicely from the recession of 1938, nearly doubling production in 1939, but was still not making a profit. What solid, reliable Nash needed, company president George W. Mason decided, was a sporty, limited-production model that would grab the public’s attention.
The resulting Special 4081 Cabriolet was the creation of Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, a hugely prolific designer whose work with coachbuilder Vanden Plas in Belgium had won him notoriety, and job offers, in the United States. A previous stint with Nash had left executives leery of de Sakhnoffsky’s more unrealistic design impulses, and so the job was limited to lightly modifying the existing two-door Cabriolet, styled by Don Mortrude, with sheetmetal changes at a bare minimum.
Photo: David LaChance
Restyled for 1939, the big Ambassador was already quite a handsome automobile, with a tall, narrow prow flanked by chromed catwalk grilles. Aware that he had not been given a blank check, de Sakhnoffsky succeeded in creating a custom look for the Ambassador through some simple changes. He stripped the car nearly bare of chrome, discarding moldings, Nash badges, external door handles and mirrors, and even the hood ornament. Doors were cut down and the windshield was scrapped for a low, split screen that might have been plucked off a Cord 810 Phaeton. The running boards were deleted, and the rear fenders were dressed with full skirts. The cut-down doors made roll-up windows impossible, and so the car was equipped with removable side curtains.
The interior was upholstered with supple leather and whipcord cloth upholstery, and the front seat was lowered to accommodate the cut-down windshield. A tachometer was attached to the steering column, and a white finish was applied to the Tenite plastic housings for the instruments, clock, and regulator for Nash’s advanced “Weather Eye” heating and ventilation system. Each car was personalized with a dashboard plaque engraved with the buyer’s name.
Photo: David LaChance
No changes were made to the standard model’s specifications, except for the removal of one coil on the front springs and the addition of lowering blocks in the rear. Coupled with the switchover to 15-inch wheels from the previous year’s 16-inchers for all Ambassadors, the changes gave the Special Cabriolet an even sleeker look.
Nash’s Seaman Body Plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin did a portion of the bodywork, sending the bodies to Kenosha for assembly, and then on to the United Body Company in Chicago for custom work. The cars were then returned to Kenosha for distribution to select big-city dealers. The de Sakhnoffsky cabriolets were loaded, with white sidewall Goodyear tires, an exhaust pipe extension, back-up lamps, a special rear axle ratio, and “Cruising Gear,” Nash’s overdrive on second and third, in addition to the clock and Weather Eye system.
Photo: David LaChance
Just 20 Ambassador cabriolets were plucked from Kenosha’s assembly lines for transformation into factory customs, but even that turned out to be overly optimistic. Eleven examples were ordered at what must have been a hefty premium; though the list price isn’t known for certain, the unattributed figure of $5,000, or about $109,000 in today’s dollars, is often quoted. Three of those cars are known to exist today, including the one shown here, owned by Reggie Nash of Richmond, Virginia.
Specifications
Engine: OHV straight-eight, 260.8-cu.in., 115 horsepower at 3,400 RPM, 200 lb-ft at 1,600 RPM
Transmission: Three-speed manual, column-mounted lever, overdrive
Suspension: Front: Independent, coil springs, anti-sway bar, lever shock absorbers; Rear: rigid axle, 10-leaf semi-elliptic springs, tubular shock absorbers
Brakes: Four-wheel drums
Wheelbase: 125 inches
Curb Weight: 3,975 pounds
Price new: $5,000 ($109,000 in 2023 dollars)
Price today: $22,100 to $50,000 (for a standard Nash Ambassador Eight)
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