Hispano-Suiza is most revered for the magnificently engineered automobiles that it produced, initially in Barcelona and subsequently in Paris, employing the superb talents of Swiss engineer and company founder Marc Birkigt. The firm’s commercial vehicles, while less well known and certainly less sophisticated, were most widely produced in the 1920s and early 1930s, with the earlier models having rather square-rigged bodywork. For obvious reasons Hispano-Suiza trucks are extremely rare today. While noted for running many hundreds of thousands of miles in their long working lives, the majority were finally run into the ground by their owners, like most commercial vehicles of their era, and were often sacrificed for their metal later in life.

According to the consignor, the Hispano-Suiza truck offered here is believed to have been used by the factory to collect coachwork and transport them to the factory for mounting. That said, marque authorities note that the chassis of the truck does not correspond to any known Hispano-Suiza model. It was acquired by the consignor over 30 years ago from a gentleman in Australia, who had restored it.

The existing body was improved throughout, with bright moldings and a radiator shell bearing the classic Hispano-Suiza script and stork. Other notable features include JBH headlamps and side lamp on a post, and a magnificent wooden truck bed that can fold flat for carrying especially capacious loads. The interior is trimmed in leather and beautiful solid wood—a legacy of the restorer as a cabin-builder—with a dashboard comprising an attractive combination of Jaeger and VDO gauges. The original four-cylinder engine was swappd for an unusual and fascinating 245-cubic-inch Chrysler six-cylinder engine with “hemi” heads, originally produced for export truck use in the early 1970s. It has more recently been dressed up with the Hispano name, for a more correct appearance, and a Ford rear axle was installed to permit driving at highway speeds.

Accompanied by the period Hispano-Suiza four-cylinder engine installed when it was discovered, this special truck remains in very attractive condition. It would make an appealing compliment to one’s winery or other venue, or an excellent, unique addition to a fleet of Hispano-Suizas, with its own distinctive muscular charm.