Elgin

Elgin was an North-American car company, notable for their muscle cars. It was part of the Mahogany Group.

History

Elgin Motors was originally an unique American brand that made sedans but was purchased by Mahogany Group (then the Woodburn Corporation) back in 1928 in the USA and was turned into a sub-brand by the group, positioned to be in the low-priced market segment, against the leaders Embager and Dearborn.

The company suffered through the Great Depression with ease, as Elgin cars were sold either with their name or rebadged by another sub-brand from Mahogany. This managed to increase the brand in popularity, and in 1933, the company decided to tackle the competition with better engines and transmissions. This led Elgin to be in the top three brands, with affordable prices and high quality vehicles.

Everything changed in 1954, when the company announced they were making a new vehicle called Exner. This led to a 55% sales increase in tha same year, where the cars got longer, wider and lower. A resounding success for the company that was always seen as the cheaper marquee.

The 1960s were a time where the company introduced many of its classic muscle cars, including the Rager, Streetwalker and Herlitz. All of these were based on an earlier model and found success in multiple ways. In total, the company had over 14 models on sale during that time.

The 1970s had a downturn for the muscle car demand, and the company struggled with selling their vehicles, a start of their downfall. Although they did manage to sell enough Rager vehicles to keep themselves around, something had to change and quickly. With some help from their parent company, Mahogany, they sold many rebadged cars from them in the late 1970s and 1980s.

But the damage was done and since they had many rebadged cars, Elgin lost its identity and never recovered. Once the 1990s rolled around, the death toll was inbound for the marquee, with only 4 models being sold by them, two being rebadged minivans. Due to financial troubles, Mahogany decided to retire the name in 2001.

The last years of Elgin were completely distressing and caused a lot of disillusion to its fans and customers, and its older cars are still revered to this day.

Featured Vehicles In Project Redline

Regular

Herlitz (1970)

While there were many American muscle cars, only a few can be as iconic and timeless as the Herlitz. Launched in 1964, it had three generations, with major redesigns between them and even minor redesigns in their yearly refreshes. The version here is the very much iconic 1970’s third generation, sharing the same chassis as the Mahogany Magnate but no exterior parts.

This quintessential muscle car comes with a 5.2L V8 in a FR layout, with a hardtop and convertible top configuration for its body, and a 5-speed manual transmission.

Custom

Herlitz All-American Speed (1970)

This ‘custom’ version of the Herlitz comes with a custom color finish, painted hood, unique body parts and exclusive vinyl. But of course, that’s not enough. It also comes with a bigger engine, a 7.2L V8 that powers the back wheels in a FR configuration. Whenever someone ‘hold on to your seats!’, they usually think of this car.