Before the V8 horsepower wars took over Detroit, one low-slung, “step-down” six-cylinder machine utterly dominated NASCAR: the legendary Hudson Hornet!
In this week’s episode, Jay Leno welcomes owner Chris Duhon and master restorer Steve Stratis to showcase one of the finest automotive restorations ever attempted: a jaw-dropping 1953 Hudson Hornet Convertible Brougham. Rescued from an abandoned, stalled project that arrived completely scattered across cardboard boxes, this ultra-rare survivor took a dedicated Chicago craftsman team three and a half painstaking years to bring back to life.
Jay and Steve dive deep into the car’s revolutionary engineering—from its “step-down” unibody chassis and dual-carburetor “Twin H-Power” 308-cubic-inch flathead inline-six to over 310 individually re-plated pieces of exterior chrome. They also highlight Hudson’s ingenious safety features, including the fail-safe mechanical backup rod linkage for the hydraulic brakes and the silky GM-sourced 4-speed Hydra-Matic transmission.
Watch Jay hit the road with the top down to experience why this 170-horsepower NASCAR king handles and cruises like a genuine modern automobile!
