1955 Debonnaire by Phillip Egan

1955 Other Makes Debonnaire Sports Car Additional Info:

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1955 Debonnaire by Phillip Egan

Tucker Design Team Member

After his involvement with Tucker, Phillip Egan worked on a number of automotive projects in the 1950s including those with Kaiser, Sears (styling changes to the Allstate car) and a sports car design of his own - the "Debonnaire." The company that brought the car to life was "Replac" which had started just after WWII in 1946. This was early in plastics development, and their customer list was impressive - Boeing, Bendix, Brush, Douglass Aircraft, General Electric and more. At that time, "fiberglass" was the "carbon fiber" of its day and Replac was one of the "go-to" companies for large industrial and technical jobs. And Replac was up to the job - they tooled up in a traditional way and built a wooden buck (most were made of mahogany) of the body from which they took their molds of the finished shape.

The Debonnaire debuted in the July, 1955 issue of Motor Trend and projections were excellent. By the mid 1950s, several fiberglass sports cars were on the market such as the Glasspar G2, Woodill Wildfire, Victress S1A, Allied and more. Typically these cars required that the owner build a custom frame with approximately 100" wheelbase or buy one custom built. The Debonnaire was a 2 passenger sports car with a 114 inch wheelbase and was designed to fit on an unmodified late 1940s/early 1950s Ford chassis. From the vantage point today, this larger size generally moves the car from a “sports car” to an “American Boulevard Cruiser” category. However, in their original advertising, they refer to the Debonnaire as a "sports car" and other larger 2 passengers cars contemporaneous to the Debonnaire refer to their work as "sports cars" too.

To more fully appreciate the design of the Debonnaire, we asked Dan Palatnik of Palatnik Enterprises based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to create a series of renderings on how the car could look if finished. Dan also shows the silhouette of the Debonnaire alongside the donor car - an early 1950s Ford. You can see some of these renderings below. But early on, tragedy struck the Replac company as reported by Phillip Egan in 1994:

"After the Motor Trend road test, the Debonnaire received little attention because of a brief life. After six were built, the Replac factory in Cleveland burned in 1956 destroying all of the wood and fiberglass master forms for the car." When this occurred, all production ceased and car production never restarted leaving the production run at six cars.

This 1955 Debonnaire for sale today was found many years ago in the Midwest and brought back to Tampa, Florida to begin research and preservation. From inspection, it appears that the car was completed but taken off the road early in its life. The fiberglass is in excellent shape for being over 60 years old, but needs full restoration as will the chassis and other components. The buyer of this car may consider working with Dave Koorey Enterprises in Port Richey, Florida. Dave and his team specialize in early fiberglass sports car restorations and are available to finish the car to the desired plan. They have done excellent work for ourselves and a number of clients we have sold cars to.

Links of Interest:

Article: American Postwar Specials/Sports Cars - Published in the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance Progam

Auction Results: LaDawri Conquest Sold for $57,200 at Mecum in Denver, CO - June, 2018

Auction Results: 1953 Victress S1A Roadster Bid to $150,000 at Mecum, Chicago, October, 2015

Hagerty Valuation Guide: Glasspar

Hagerty Valuation Guide: Woodill Wildfire

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Artwork by Dan Palatnik Showing a Finished Debonnaire

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Vintage Photos of Debonnaire Sports Car

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Image Above From Replac Corporation Brochure Showing Wooden Buck Used To Give Shape To Sports Car

Image Above From Replac Corporation Brochure

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Shown Below Are Photos of The 1955 Debonnaire Being Auctioned in this Sale

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Highlights of Replac Corporation Brochure Shown Below

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Phillip Egan Detail

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Transportation costs and arrangements from origination (Tampa, Florida) to buyer's location are the responsibility of the buyer. This car is being advertised locally and we reserve the right to end the auction at any time. Car is being sold "as-is." People have different opinions and expectations of old cars. It is your responsibility to inspect this vehicle or send a third party inspector for your satisfaction. A $2000 non-refundable deposit is due within 48 hours of the end of the auction. Full payment via electronic/bank transfer is due no later than 7 days from the end of the auction.

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