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The Stutz Blackhawk was an American luxury car manufactured from 1971 through 1987. Other than the name it bears no resemblance with the original Stutz Blackhawk (1929-1930). The Stutz Motor Company was revived in August 1968 by New York banker James O'Donnell. He joined forces with retired Chrysler stylist Virgil Exner who designed the new Blackhawk. Exner's design included a spare tire that protruded through the trunklid, a massive grille and freestanding headlamps. The new Blackhawk was prototyped by Ghia in Italy at a cost of over US$300,000. To offer exclusivity and still allow easy servicing in the US a custom built Italian body was added to a GM platform and engine. The Blackhawk debuted in January 1970 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.
With an extra heavy gauge steel body handmade at Carrozzeria Padane in Modena, Italy, and from 1972 at Carrozzeria Saturn in Cavallermaggiore, near Torino, Italy, and greater than 19 feet long, the production Blackhawk used Pontiac Grand Prix running gear, Pontiac's 7.5 L (455 in³) V8 engine, and a GM TH400 3-speed automatic transmission. With its engine tuned to produce 425 hp and 420 ft·lb, the 2300 kg Blackhawk could accelerate to 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds with a 210 km/h top speed, delivering 8 miles per gallon (30 L/100 km). Later Blackhawks used Pontiac's 403 and 350. Also Ford, Chevrolet and Cadillac engines were used. The handbuilt Blackhawk had 18 to 22 handrubbed lacquer paint coats that took six weeks to apply. Total production time for each vehicle was over 1500 manhours. In 1980, the Blackhawk was redesigned for the Pontiac Bonneville chassis.
