Car Number – NA14A
Engine – Reported 296-Cubic-Inch Wisconsin Type B-16 Four-Cylinder, 16 Valves
Horsepower – Approximately 100 HP

"Stutz – The World’s Champion"

Stutz established its name through competition before beginning regular automobile production. Harry C. Stutz, a former farmer turned self-taught engineer, worked for several Indianapolis manufacturers and developed a rear-axle-mounted transmission before building the automobile that entered the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in May 1911. Driven by Gil Anderson, the car finished eleventh—hindered not by mechanical failure, but rather by frequent tire changes. Its performance gave the company the advertising slogan “The Car That Made Good in a Day,” linking the Stutz name to endurance and competition from its introduction.

The Ideal Motor Car Company later organized to manufacture Stutz automobiles, combining Wisconsin-built engines with Stutz's transaxle arrangement. In May 1913, Ideal and the Stutz Auto Parts Company merged to form the Stutz Motor Car Company. The Bearcat became closely associated with the marque’s sporting identity, while its racing program moved beyond stock and near-stock automobiles. By 1915, Stutz campaigned specialized racing cars with Wisconsin-built 16-valve engines.

The Weightman Special emerged from Stutz’s expanding involvement in competition. Commissioned by William Walker Weightman III after his unsuccessful attempt to purchase a White Squadron team car, it combined a lightweight Stutz chassis with a B-16 four-cylinder engine and an elongated torpedo body. The resulting automobile was built for racing, distinct in configuration and purpose from the production Bearcat.
D. Brailey Gish drove the Special during the 1916 season, competing at Sheepshead Bay before winning two heats and a 15-mile race at Benning Race Track in Washington, D.C., that Thanksgiving. Carrying number 26, the car was photographed extensively at Benning, leaving a visual record of its early competition appearance. Eleanor Blevins also drove the Special during Weightman’s ownership.

The car later passed to racing driver Eddie Hearne and then to Lindley Bothwell, whose collection preserved many early competition automobiles. Bothwell continued to campaign the Stutz in historic racing events before it entered William F. Harrah’s collection around 1970.

David Cammarano acquired the Special in 1986 and restored it while investigating its earlier history. Correspondence with historian Joseph S. Freeman, contact with Weightman’s family, and the study of period photographs helped reconstruct the car’s identity and competition career. The restoration retained most of the existing bodywork while replacing the tail. Cammarano and his son returned the Stutz to vintage racing and continued using it until its sale to Bill Evans in 2000. The Price Museum of Speed acquired it in 2007, before it arrived at the Singleton Collection.