This is one of my uncle's 3 Hispano-Suizas - a 1930 Hispano-Suiza H6C boattail speedster. He finished the car a few years ago - and I have been itching for a ride ever since - it finally came to pass yesterday.
As you probably know in the era of these cars, chassis were bought from the manufacturer, and bodies were separately commissioned from coach builders. This car originally had a limousine-type body and wasn't particularly attractive. My uncle shortened the chassis 30 cm, and designed a new body with considerable help from a friend of his, the late Strother MacMinn, professor of automobile design at The Art Center in Pasadena, CA.. The body design is a composite of Gallé, Kellner and Labourdette design characteristics. Because of this body, and a few other concessions such as an adjustable seat and a modern battery) the car would not be competitive in a show. However my uncle (Jay Heumann) restored a 1922 H6 dual-cowl phaeton Hispano some 30 years ago - with which he won Best in Show at the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance. He subsequently co-chaired the show for 25 years, retiring a couple years ago. He still serves as "Chairman Emeritus." This car, however, was built to drive - and it does get driven. It has participated in multi-day rallyes in Europe and the U.S., including a 5 day Northern California tour earlier this year - where the car drove some of our very favorite roads in the wine country and in the Sierras.
The engine in this car is an 8 liter straight 6. It idles down to 150 RPM. It has so much freakin' torque that you can shift into top gear (3rd) at about 15mph and pull up steep hills. I know, because we did it. The view down the long hood and over those gorgeous fenders is really, really something.
Then, he let me drive!!!!! This is a major leap of trust and faith - as this car is right hand drive, the shift pattern is backwards (an "H" with 1st to the
right and back) and it requires double-clutching, even for upshifts. There are no synchros to make up for your lack of talent - and the RPM's are so low that the sounds you rely on are somewhat foreign. Nevertheless it was actually a real joy to drive. Unlike american cars of its vintage with 5 or 6 turns lock-to-lock making up for lack of power steering and a lot of weight over the front tires, this car's steering is 2.5 turns lock to lock. It takes some muscle at very low speeds, of course. The control pressures otherwise are amazingly light. The gear lever moves with almost no resistance - just mass - and the brakes are very, very good. Steering takes some "advanced planning", due to the small tire patch and the solid front axle. Still, the car is actually stiffly spring, and there is no play. It even has cockpit adjustable shock absorbers! (See the pics for the large black knobs at either end of the dash.)
Needless to say I was both intimidated and tremendously grateful for the opportunity to drive this rolling treasure. I managed to pull off reasonably good shifts, although the clutch pedal grabbed so high off the floor my launches and shifts were not what I would have liked. We stopped so I could take a few pics of the car, and then, it was all over - too soon. What a thrill!
The rest of the pictures are online here
OT: Guess what I got to drive?
/ Caramel
What a great opportunity, I probably would have backed down considering how difficult it must have been to drive, and the value of the car. I need to move to CA, and follow you around... 
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