Lot 718 is a limited-production 1959 Dodge Custom Royal Super D-500 convertible featuring high-performance factory upgrades.
The car, restored in 2005 by Tom White (interior redone by Jonathan Chase of Skin and Bones Restorations), has been featured twice in Hemmings magazine and has won awards at Meadowbrook, Greenwich, Newport and other concours and was part of a special display at the New England Concours d’Elegance in 2017, when it went back to White for a full mechanical and cosmetic service.
The car has all the Super D-500 options, including power seats with swivel option, Autronic Eye, power windows, auto-dimming rear view mirror, automatic transmission, power steering and brakes. It also has a fully rebuilt 383cid V8.
The car is part of the John Staluppi Cars of Dreams Collection.
Barrett-Jackson’s annual Palm Beach auction is scheduled for April 12-15 at the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach.
In 1968 I learned to drive on my mother’s 4-door sedan, 1959 Dodge Royal Lancer. It had all the bells and whistles and was quite the ‘boat’. When I went for my drivers test in Cumberland, MD, you would take the written test and then drive through the downtown and parallel park on those same busy streets. The MSP Officer, who rode along to grade my driving test, walked out of his office and stood beside the car with his clipboard. As he looked at me in the car a broad smile appeared on his face and he said softly, "This should be interesting." After we drove through the narrow city streets for a few minutes, he instructed me to parallel park on downtown Baltimore Street at a parking meter between two parked cars. After the initial back-in and a couple of up and back curb adjustments, the officer opened his car door slightly, looked at my distance from the curb, and with a chuckle announced, "Close enough for me." I passed the test and drove the Royal Lancer for the rest of my high school years until I went off to college. I will always have a fond place in my heart for these Mopar ‘battleships’ but rarely see them at any car shows or cruises, and have never seen a sedan. Thanks for the memories!!
Great story! My family had a 1958 Coronnet 4 door sedan that was my high school car as well. At 15 ,after finishing drivers ed, we were allowed to get a license… which I did. I took my test in this car and it was not equipped with power steering. Parallel parking this big Dodge was a work out but somehow I managed it. I got a smile reading your experience. Thanks for sharing it!
Always good to see that some of the "superconvertibles" actually survived. That said, very few of us actually ever saw D500 cars in their era. I think it’d be a nice driver if it actually had anything near 345 Horsepower…..