In the realm of kit and replica cars, no manufacturer has such a contorted history as Classic Motor Carriages. I lost count of the number of “dba” (doing business as) names scattered through its history. As if the constant shifts of assets from one shell company to another wasn’t enough, lawsuits and evictions pepper the files as well. It’s a Peyton Place automotive quagmire. Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that the Classic Tiffany, styled with every iota of excess accessible to mankind, was the subject of a lawsuit by none other than Tiffany & Company – distinguished by solid blue boxes tied with white ribbons bearing expensive baubles – for trademark infringement. Fortunately the mantle of that suit (long settled) did not rest on this particular example of a 1988 Tiffany featured today. Advertised here on craigslist for $18,500, it’s available in St George, Utah. Tony Primo – thanks for finding this neo-classic for us!
The Classic Tiffany emerged in about 1984 and was made through the late 1980s. Technically it was sold by Fiberfab, which had been absorbed by Classic Motor Carriages. Its fiberglass body is situated on a Mercury Cougar platform; a 5.0 liter Ford V8 sits in the engine bay, complete with sequential multi-port injection and 225 hp. Gearshifts are courtesy of a four-speed automatic, and the Tiffany came from the factory equipped with power steering and power brakes. Our seller represents the 36,000-mile odometer reading as original, and says the car runs well.
Despite its 1930s exterior swag, the interior is entire modern – well, at least ’80s modern. The air conditioning works, and the car has power windows, door locks, and seats. I think that’s real leather upholstery (early cars were swathed in vinyl). A CD player (what’s that) is installed in the digital dash. Best estimates of production hover around 500 copies.
The styling is a hodge-podge of design elements stuck together in helter-skelter fashion. Tubular binacles anchor the head and tail lamps. A high-set bustle acts as the trunk, trimmed with fake … sorry! faux trunk straps. The trunk is oddly tacked onto the car’s behind. Faux flexible exhaust pipes lead nowhere from the side of the hood. Out front, horns and lamps bristle away from the grill. This Tiffany rides on tires wrapped around custom wire wheels, with an extra set cradled on each front fender. All kidding aside, this example is in fine condition – at least judging by the few photos we’re provided. And the price is about right – here’s a comparable car that was bid past $21k recently. What do you think of the Classic Tiffany?
You may want to double check that horsepower rating Michelle. Seems more suited to a carbureted 302.
You’re right. I’m seeing more like 225. Thanks for the correction.
Wild front end on the Tiffany 🎺
Reminds me of a bunch of angels heralding … something.
It almost works until you see that Cougar C Pillar poking out. Seems like there was a other one of these not too long ago but it was a later model Cougar and the effect wasn’t so jarring.
This vehicle needs a barf bag dispenser mounted somewhere on the exterior (between the banks of air horns?) for the benefit of those observing it…
BREAK FAST at Tiffany? Far from MY choice. More like scrambled eggs than Eggs Benedict. ONCE again, I’m on to VERSAILLES in my Town Car!😅 🤣
The trademark case is an interesting read, but it’s hard to believe that the courts sided with Tiffany and Company. No one is or was ever confused into thinking the two companies were one in the same.
“Under the Trademark Act, a surname cannot be registered on the Principal Register unless it demonstrates distinctiveness. Mere ownership of a surname isn’t sufficient; it must have acquired secondary meaning as a trademark through exclusive and continuous use.”
As we have seen a lot of these fiberglass neo-classics her on BF (Tiffany, Zimmer, Excalibur, etc) they all bring something special to the table as well as something horrible.
IMO they rear (with trunk literally) is usually where the horrible comes in.
In this case at least the trunk is slanted and gives it a more astatic look. For some reason when designing these they always forget about the rear
As if they ran out of creativity or patience.
Are those spare tires actually functional? That would be hilarious because I don’t see how you would even jack this thing up.
CD stereo was high lux in 1988. I was working in vehicle development for GMC truck at this time and was asked to obtain a PO for a variety of music genres on CD for testing in prototype trucks. CD didn’t really trickle down to common entry level vehicles until the 90s.