The Fabulous Hudson Hornet is known to car enthusiasts everywhere, but at one time the company was better known for its silky straight eights. 

When we think of Hudson today, it’s usually the fabulous 308 cubic-inch Hornet six that first comes to mind. (See our feature here.) But at one time, Hudson was a champion of the straight eight. The company offered its first inline eight back in 1930, and for a few years they were the only engines offered in Hudsons. The original Hudson Great Eight of 1930 was considered an advanced engine for its time, quickly evolving into the 1931-32 Greater Eight. In this basic L-head configuration with 254 cubic inches and  remarkably few significant changes, the straight eight was offered through 1952.

When Hudson entered its famous Step-Down era in 1948, the straight eight had already reached its ultimate state of tune a few years earlier: 254 cubic inches, 128 horsepower. An extremely undersquare design, the Super-Eight, as it was then branded, featured a 3.00-in bore and a 4.50-in stroke for a stroke/bore ratio of 1.5:1. The forged-steel, five main-bearing crankshaft was fully counterweighted, while the cam-in-block cylinder case was cast in high-chromium alloy. Lubrication was provided by a novel pressure/splash hybrid setup.

A Carter two-barrel carburetor fed eight individual intake ports cast into the block, and there were eight separate exhaust ports as well. Standard compression ratio was 6.5:1, but an optional aluminum cylinder head offered 7.1:1. Owing to its considerable length, the cylinder head was fastened to the block with three rows of ten hefty half-inch studs and nuts, a total of 30. At Hudson, there was no fooling around in these matters.

Commodore 8 Convertible Brougham

When the Step-Downs were introduced in 1948 the Super-Eight was the premium engine, offered in the top-of-the-line Commodore 8 and next-in-line Super 8. (The Commodore and Super were offered with sixes as well.) But as model lines were consolidated, the Super was dropped after 1951 so the straight eight was available in only the Commodore for ’52. In that final year for the Commodore 8, four body styles were offered: a two-door Club Coupe, a four-door Sedan, the two-door Hollywood Hardtop, and a Convertible Brougham.

Commodore 8 Hollywood Hardtop 

There’s a notable wrinkle in the Hudson’s Step-Down engine lineup: At  262 cubic inches, the standard Hudson inline six was actually larger in displacement than the 254 cubic-in straight eight. (The smaller 232 CID six in the budget-priced Pacemaker knew its place.) The big six offered similar power, too, with 123 hp vs 128 hp. The eight’s value was in its added smoothness and drivability. But when the six-cylinder Hornet was introduced in 1951 with 308 cubic inches and up to 160 hp in dual-carburetor Twin-H form, the straight eight’s days were surely numbered. It was a good run, 1932 through 1952, but the Hudson Motor Company produced only sixes from 1953 on.

1952 Commodore 8 Sedan cabin

The Commodore name, first used in 1941, was dropped as well for 1952, as now the Hornet was the top of the model line. The Commodore 8 story ends there, almost. When Hudson engineers designed the engine for the 1953 Jet compact, they amputated two cylinders from the straight eight and with some other changes, including a stroke increase to 4.75 inches, they created a 202 cubic-inch inline six initially rated at 104 hp. This engine powered the 1953-54 Hudson Jet, and in 1955-56 it was the base engine for the Nash-based Hudson Wasp. And that was the end of the Hudson straight eight for good.

1956 Hudson Wasp