1933 was the only year for an Essex, or Terraplane, 8 cylinder motor. An inline 8 it had the same bore of 2-15/16" as the six, but had a stroke of 4-1/2" giving 243 CID. With shipping weights of around 2500 to 2700 pounds, this produced a light and lively little automobile and with a price range from $585 to $695 gave good value also. A total of 38,150 Essex-Terraplanes, both 6's and 8's,were shipped in 1933. (Carl Weber Collection).

According to outlaw historians the 1930's bad-boy John Dillinger and his gang preferred the 1933 Hudson Terraplane 8 as the fast getaway car because it blew the Ford V8 right off the road!

The History:

In march of 1933 while escaping from an apartment in St. Paul Minnesota, John Dillinger, along with his girlfriend Billie Frechette had a running machinegun battle with the local police in which Dillinger was wounded in the leg. Their escape car was reported to be a large green and blue-black sedan. On a return trip from Ohio a week later on April 6th, just outside of Noblesville, Indiana, John and his brother Hubert were driving home early in the morning when Hubert fell asleep, ran through a fence and crashed into a tree stump wrecking the Hudson. They both escaped but left the Terraplane behind. The previous owner's father in 1934 pulled this Terraplane out of that field. In the late 1960's and early 1970's the car underwent a complete frame-off restoration. During the restoration the owner discovered several bullet holes in the left cowl panel, probably from the St. Paul escape mentioned above. Recently a collector, Sandy Jones, and the John Dillinger Historical Society purchased this 1933 Hudson Terraplane.