Pierce-Arrow Twelve History

Pierce-Arrow introduced its V-12 for the 1932 model year, joining the early-1930s luxury arms race against Cadillac, Packard, Lincoln, and others. The smooth, powerful twelve became the centerpiece of the Pierce-Arrow range and remained the company's defining engine through the end of production in 1938.

The V-12 was offered in several displacements as the line developed: an initial 6.5- and 7.0-liter pair, then a larger 7.6-liter (462-cubic-inch) unit producing about 175 hp for 1933–1934, rising to roughly 185 hp by the mid-1930s. In 1932–1933, a Pierce-Arrow Twelve set a string of stock-car speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats with driver Ab Jenkins, demonstrating the engine's strength.

Despite the engineering, the Depression devastated demand for $3,000-plus luxury cars. Pierce-Arrow had separated from Studebaker in 1933 and struggled on independently, building beautifully but selling few. The company built its last cars in 1938 before liquidation, the V-12 powering the marque to the very end.