Jason Godsil is hoping to bring the golden age of luxury motoring back in the 21st century, with a massive concept model called the Manhattan. The car will feature a V16 engine. Looking at the renderings below, and bearing in mind the planned V16, many classic-car buffs will immediately draw a comparison to the fabled Duesenberg brand of the jazz age.
And that’s precisely what Godsil has in mind. The Duesenberg achieved legendary status in its own time—the phrase ‘that’s a duesie’ has its origination in the company name—and the surviving models are some of the most collectible and therefore valuable cars in the world.
A V16 engine is as big as it gets. The V16 design has only been used rarely as a production engine in any car, ever, although it was at one time used to power airplanes. As an automotive engine, it features prominently in the fantasies and romantic daydreams of car aficionados. To have a V16-powered car in one’s collection is a coup.
The V16 proposed in Godsil’s Manhattan will be a 13L engine which will produce 1,000 horsepower. It won’t be a gasoline engine, though, and will instead run on natural gas, which will make the car an absolutely 21st century statement on the continuing allure of pre-war American cars, and the small, craftsman-driven companies who flourished for that short period of time.
Godsil is projecting a finished prototype by the end of next year, and is hoping to see the first examples of the model into the garages of grateful collectors by 2020, as other Godsil models continue through various stages of development for the nascent company.
