These supercharged cars can be recognized by these shiny creased tubes, which Cord registered as a trademark and used in his other supercharged cars from Cord and Auburn. Ironically the Duesenberg Model J-200, emphasizing opulence and excess, entered the marketplace just one year before the infamous 'Black Thursday' stock market crash on October 24, 1929 that brought about the Great Depression.

"[35], List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers, "Directory Index: Duesenberg/1922_Duesenberg_Model_A_Catalogue", Wolff, Raymond A., "Duesenberg—It's a grand old name", "Introduction to the 1928–1934 Duesenberg J series", Buehrig, Gordon M., "I remember the Duesenberg", "1935 Duesenberg Model SJN Images, Information and History", "The End of the Line – The Duesenberg JN", "How Duesenberg Cars work: Duesenberg Model SJ, Model JN, Model SJN", "New car auction records set at Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, classic Duesenberg sells for over $4.5 million", Index of all 481 Duesenberg J chassis number, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duesenberg&oldid=980789388, Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States, Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Indiana, Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1913, Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1937, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2014, Articles with dead external links from September 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Chrome Nickel steel 6.40-inch (163 mm) in depth, Total: 481, SJ(36), SSJ (2), JN & SJN (10), This page was last edited on 28 September 2020, at 13:24. The campaign was a success. Thus, the Model J fell short of the original goal to sell 500 cars a year.[16]. All rights reserved. The result is stunning and historically significant as one of only two dual rear-mounted spare Duesenberg Roadsters bodied by Murphy, both created with disappearing tops.
They also claim there is little evidence connecting the Duesenberg and doozy during the 1920s and 1930s, when the car was most popular. By....[continue reading] Roadster by Brandfon. New York was the financial capital of the United States in 1929, and many of its people could afford such a very expensive car. The Model J quickly became one of the most popular luxury cars, as well as a status symbol in the United States and Europe, driven by the rich and famous, including Al Capone, Evalyn Walsh McLean, Greta Garbo, Howard Hughes, Mae West, Marion Davies, Tyrone Power, Clark Gable, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, William Randolph Hearst, Powel Crosley, Jr., the families Mars, Whitney, and Wrigley; members of European royalty such as the Duke of Windsor, Prince Nicholas of Romania, Queen Maria of Yugoslavia, and the Kings Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Alfonso XIII of Spain. It was replaced by an unsynchronized three-speed gearbox, which was fitted to all subsequent Duesenbergs. http://media.library.illinois.edu/TDC/Home/Conditions. All work on J-235 was completed on August 14, 2019.

Being the owner of the original factory plans and a student of history, he was the only one who recognized this part at a car swap meet over 30 years before. The first one was delivered by the coachbuilder Rollson to the German artist Rudolf Bauer in April 1940; it is both the longest Duesenberg and the last one delivered.

This rare supercharged Model J version, with 320 hp (239 kW) was also created by Fred Duesenberg. A 1929 Duesenberg Roadster J-200 convertible two door, two-passenger automobile.

The Duesenberg Roadster highlighted both elements: It was a very stylish and upscale car with a powerful racecar engine.

Scored 100 pts. It was later owned by a German family and then by Walter Douglas, Jr., of Tucson, Arizona, for whom a former title, dated 1934, still resides with the vehicle. Although the Duesenberg brothers were world-class engineers, they were neither good businessmen nor administrators; they were unable to sell all the units of their first passenger car, the Model A. See more ideas about Duesenberg car, Antique cars, Vintage cars. E.L. Cord bought the company on October 26, 1925, for the brothers' engineering skills, talent and the brand name in order to produce luxury cars. In 1940, Augie Duesenberg sold marine versions of the current 254-ci splash-oiled Hudson flathead inline eight. [11] Whereas Augie had played an important role in the development of the Model A and its variant, the very rare X, he had nothing to do with the J and had no formal connection with Duesenberg, Inc. until later.

Duesenberg Motors Company was an American manufacturer of racing cars and high-end luxury automobiles (sometimes referred to as "Duesy"). They switched to automobiles at the start of the twentieth century and designed their first automobile in 1904. In 1920 they entered the luxury automobile marketplace.

The fact she bought a two-door Duesenberg roadster at the age of 62 and drove it herself, without a chauffeur, is even more interesting and telling of her spirit.

It is now back to its “as new” condition and in the original configuration it was created nearly 90 years ago. Delage.


Duesenberg bodies came from both the United States and Europe, and the finished cars were some of the largest, grandest, most beautiful, and most elegant cars ever created. A Duesenberg SJ convertible coupe sold for $4.5 million in March 2013. Duesenberg ceased production in 1937 after Cord's financial empire collapsed. Owned by the seller for 4 years, the odometer shows over 14K miles, though true mileage is unknown. The Digital Collections are a product of the University Library. The same year Jimmy Murphy won the French Grand Prix, becoming the first American to win that race when he drove a Duesenberg to victory at Le Mans. Most importantly, it offered credit, usually in the form of charge accounts. [11] In 1925, the firm's name was changed to "Duesenberg Motors Corporation" and Fred assumed the title of president. Sign up to the Concours Virtual Newsletter to ensure you keep up to date with the latest news and information on the Concours Virtual 2020, Concours Virtual is a Hothouse Media production. The first Duesenberg to break six figures was a model J that sold for $205,000 in April 1974. With the lines of the car not being interrupted by bulky side mounted spares or a canvas top laying across the back of the car, this amazing Duesenberg is sleek and elegant for such a muscular automobile. Concepts by Duesenberg. A reproduction automobile called Duesenberg II was produced between 1978 and 2000 by the Elite Heritage Motors Corp and successor company Duesenberg Motors Inc. in Elroy, Wisconsin. The first Duesenberg to sell in excess of $1 Million was in 1985.

Learn more about this classic car. Very expensive to own, the price of the Model J ranged from $15,000 to $20,000. The firm had already acquired a considerable aura of prestige when in October 1919, Fred signed over the rights to his name, patents and drawings for a passenger car to a pair of promoters, Newton E. Van Zandt and Luther M. Andy was a collector of Duesenberg's and after driving a Duesenberg II he immediately ordered two for himself. Esther would regularly drive the Duesenberg between her two homes in Pasadena and Santa Barbara. [citation needed] Figures are not available as to the prices charged by deluxe coachbuilders in Europe, but it is reasonable to assume the final selling price of the products mounted on the costly imported chassis were considerably higher than their all-American-built counterparts.[14]. Other cars featured larger-displacement engines, but none surpassed its power. By 1969, model J's were selling anywhere between $15,000 and $50,000. Only two 1936 Duesenberg SSJ Speedsters were built: one for Clark Gable, the other for Gary Cooper.

Bolling and his commission acquired a license to produce the Bugatti U-16 for the U.S. Army Air Service.

The solution came in the form of a 1-ton Ford E350 van, which had a suitably strong chassis, and importantly for the designers, the “Twin I-Beam” front axle which conveniently mimicked the look of the original Model J's solid beam axle. [citation needed] Among the celebrities who purchased this model were Tom Mix and Rudolph Valentino. 36. After much research as the ACD Club Historian, Randy concluded that J-235 was the missing dual rear spare Duesenberg he had not been able to document, having personally laid eyes on and documented all but two Duesenberg in existence. Of 481 Model Js built[30] (including all its versions) produced between 1928 and 1937, about 378 survive.

[31] The last one ever made was assembled from leftover parts between 1938 and 1940.[15].

[7] On March 8, 1920, these men became president and vice president of the "Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Corporation of Indianapolis".

A 1970s Duesenberg was also created, based on a contemporary Cadillac Fleetwood and with modern styling. As was the custom among the luxury car brands, only the chassis and engine were displayed, since the interior and body of the car would be coachbuilt to the owner's specifications. She did this to escape the harsh east coast winters over health concerns for her six children, one of whom had contracted pneumonia and nearly died.

Originally, New York supported the Model J. [18] The Model J was capable of a top speed of 119 mph (192 km/h), and 94 mph (151 km/h) in second gear. About half the Model Js built by Duesenberg had coachworks devised by the company's chief body designer, Gordon Buehrig. The auto body is black with stainless steel trim and bumpers.

She held lavish beach parities akin in opulence and scale to those she’d experienced as an attractive young woman in her early 30s in Newport, Rhode Island during the gilded age. [citation needed] The only two examples built in 1935, the SSJ Speedsters sported a lightweight open-roadster body produced by Central Manufacturing Company, an Auburn subsidiary in Connersville, Indiana. While she was living in Pasadena in late 1929, she purchased J-235 from the Duesenberg factory and sent the chassis to have its body and interior created by the Murphy Coachwork Company, also located in Pasadena. Deliveries to dealers did not start until December 1921. Duesenberg advertising the Model J as "The World's Finest Motor Car". In 2011 a new company with worldwide trademark rights[33] was established as Duesenberg Motors Inc., with the intention of again restarting the manufacturing of the Duesenberg II replicas in 2012 in Baldwin, Wisconsin.

First to go was the four-speed gearbox, which proved unable to handle the engine's power. The final evolution of the Duesenberg engine was ram-air intakes, which were added to some of the last supercharged models to produce 400 hp (298 kW), referred to as "SSJ".

The automobile was big, fast, gorgeous, and expensive. "Dozy" is akin to the verb "dozen" that is semantically and etymologically related to "daze" and that is attested in slang terms such as "the dozens. Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community). Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942.