In the absence so far of a picture of the original body, this picture is of the Rio 1/43 scale model In the absence so far of a picture of the original body, this picture is of the Rio 1/43 scale model
This Royale was ordered in 1930 by Dr. Josef Fuchs of Munich . It was the second Royale chassis to be sold. Surgeon Fuchs bought it as a chassis and commissioned coachbuilder Ludwig Weinberger, also of Munich , to build this cabriolet body. The chassis and body totalling, it is said, $43,000 when it was finished in 1931. It was originally painted black with yellow trim. Fuchs soon moved to Trieste , due to the turbulent times in Germany , taking the car with him, then to Shanghai and finally to New York.
In the winter 1937-38 its block froze, and the car was put under cover in the backyard of Fuchs home on Long Island
Charles Chayne (later to become Vice President in charge of Engineering of General Motors) had his eyes on it for many years, it was finally sent to a scrap yard in 1943, where he bought it for $400 plus $12 tax, in 1947 he had completed the restoration. The restored car is white and slightly modified. The modifications, I believe can be seen in comparisons between the pictures of the restored vehicle and the Rio model which is believed to be of the original car, why it is cream is unknown although Rio also produced an open version in a blue colour, poetic license maybe.In 1958 it was donated to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn , Michigan , where it is still on display.
