Miss Persia .1936

Miss Persia is a 1936, 16ft Gar Wood Speedster (model 606, hull no. 5748) - the second of two Speedsters delivered originally to Theobald M. Quinn (Gar Wood's distributor in Paris) with an original, yet super-rare 1947 Packard Marine Racing Engine. Shipped from Paris to Lake Geneva and sold by Gar Wood's Swiss distributor André Couteau to Persia - then owned by Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlevi. Originally fitted with a 125hp Gray Marine engine, repowered with a 1M-245 R(acing) engine in 1947. This Packard engine is probably the last survivor of the experimental Packard racing type engines - only about 10 were built. This very boat was exhibited at the Chicago Boat Fair in Spring 1936 (the last time, the Speedster was shown at a Gar Wood fair stand). On demand of the Shah's father, it was rebuilt in details (new central instrument, a banjo steering wheel and full leather interior), before shipment. The boat sank around 1950 at the Caspian Sea; its remains were used to restore and rebuild the boat to its original 1936/47 specifications. Due to the high restoration quality and detailed reconstruction from 2016-20, it is certified today as one of the handful, original survivors by the official Gar Wood society and its historian Anthony Mollica, Jr.