![]() To shield the Thunderbird from the weather, Whittel had an enclosed shed built (over 100 feet long) in parallel with the mansion, to which it was connected by a 600-foot tunnel carved into granite. The Thunderbird under construction, 1936 – 1940 – Credits: Thunderbird Lake Tahoe Also at this stage, a flybridge was added, again maintaining the style of the original design. In 1962, the Thunderbird was purchased by another American tycoon who, willing to be faithful to the original design, replaced the original engines with twin aeronautic ones: two 1100-horsepower turbocharged Allison V-12s adapted from a World War II twin-engine fighter, a P-38 Lightning. Thunderbird, 1940s – Credits: Thunderbird Lake Tahoe The total cost? About $87,000 back then, equivalent to $1.5 million today. The original motorisation consists of two Kermath V-12 engines of 550 horsepower each. The volumes that emerge are curvilinear, soft, featuring an aviation-inspired closed superstructure with exposed brushed steel. The hull is made entirely of double plank mahogany, and the superstructures are brushed stainless steel. Douglas DC-2, the airplane from which the Thunderbird takes its inspiration – (Wikimedia Commons) It was built by Huskins Boat Works in Bay City, Michigan, which delivered the boat in 1940. Hacker, with the clear stipulation that it be inspired by the plane in question, the DC-2, from which it inherited the curves and emblematic brushed stainless finish. ![]() The commission was given to renowned naval architect John L. The design of the Thunderbird was born at the same time as the construction of the eponymous estate on Lake Tahoe in the mid-1930s.
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