Best-known for his definitive midget and sprint cars and the five Indianapolis 500 wins scored by his revolutionary roadsters in the 1950s, Frank Kurtis approached retirement in 1962. He and his renowned staff designed and built a small batch of beautifully styled two-seater sports racing cars, and this car in particular, chassis 62-S1, took the concept one step further. It was commissioned in 1962 by Herb Stelter, a Houston auto parts distributor and motorcycle racer turned race car driver. Stelter thought an Indy-type car would be an excellent basis for SCCA competition, and Frank Kurtis suggested that one could be built for both open-wheel Formula 366 and sports car races by designing a car with quickly removable fenders via Dzus fasteners. Dubbed “Aguila,” (Spanish for Eagle) by Stelter, it is the only Kurtis-Kraft racing car built with a dual-purpose body.

After the rolling chassis was completed, Stelter and mechanic Dale Burt installed a three-carburetor 327 Chevy engine and four-speed gearbox. Details of the car and Stelter’s SCCA outings were featured in the January 1963 issue of Road & Track. Despite the Aguila’s competitive potential, Stelter entered about a dozen races in 1962 and 1963, but did not post a finish. A flywheel explosion the following year, dictated the car’s retirement to Dale Burt’s Houston garage. Two decades later, it was acquired and restored by George Shelley, a vintage racing enthusiast in Florida, who campaigned the car in Southeastern SVRA events. It was highlighted in marque expert Gordon Eliot White’s 1990 Kurtis-Kraft book as “one of the last three racing cars Kurtis would build.”

By 2000, the Aguila was acquired by noted Kurtis-Kraft collector William Chapin of Pennsylvania, who sold it in 2009 to Richard Munz of Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Munz refreshed the car for exhibition at concours events, and added an NHRA-approved fuel tank for continued vintage racing. The consignor purchased the Aguila from Mr. Munz in 2016, and performed an interior and mechanical restoration. That August, he participated in the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance®, and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®. On the lawn, Frank Kurtis’ son, Arlen, told the consignor that he recalls the Aguila as the last race car his father built.

Rounding out the restoration in 2022, the Aguila was mechanically serviced and the body stripped to bare aluminum for refinishing in the original racing livery. It was painstakingly completed using underlying paint samples and period photographs. An additional set of wide Halibrand magnesium alloy racing wheels and slicks are included for open-wheel racing. In addition to its beauty, fascinating, one-off dual-purpose design, and last-of-its-kind status, the Kurtis-Kraft Aguila stands ready to deliver a truly unforgettable experience on all levels.

*Please note that this vehicle is sold on a Bill of Sale.