In 1940, the Graham Company entered into a contract with Hupmobile to build a car called the Skylark. Unfortunately, Hupmobile went out of business, leaving Graham with a production line set up. The company renamed the car the Graham Hollywood and continued production. Note that from the cowl back, the car is based on the 1936-37 Cord. Hupmobile had purchased the body dies from the defunct Auburn Automobile Company. Many changes from the Cord were made, including a redesigned front end and the conversion from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive. Only 1,859 Hollywoods were built with the majority being supercharged. With the best power-to-weight ratio in American at the time at 25 to 1, Hollywoods were raced successfully. Among the drivers who found success with the Hollywood was Bill France, the father of NASC