CORD and DUESENBERG
1930 It is a Duesy
2015 SOLD for DKK 17.8M including premium
Upon its entry into the Cord group, Duesenberg captures the market of the rich and kings with the model J chassis, released in 1928. The strategy of the brand in terms of bodywork is combined as it both includes workshops under the approved LaGrande label and a network of autonomous companies.
Located in Pasadena, Walter J. Murphy is equipping the Duesenberg cars of Hollywood personalities at that time when Americans are amazed to finally acquire a high-end car made entirely in their country. Unfortunately, the crisis will soon slow the momentum towards luxury.
On September 26 in a formerly royal Danish castle, Bonhams sells a Duesenberg Model J bodied by Murphy as a roadster in 1930, lot 14 estimated DKK 17M. Its first owner had been typical of the customers targeted by Cord : a Hollywood photographer descendant to the Vanderbilt family.
This car remained highly original. It was never dismantled and its successive owners offered it for 60 years to the admiration of the demanding Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club. It has the rare and prestigious feature of the folding roof which was not in the catalog and required a specific customer request to Murphy.
A similar coupe made in the previous year was sold for $ 2.36M including premium by Gooding in August 2013. Both these cars can not however be compared with the coupe that sold for $ 10.3M including premium at Gooding in August 2011, a single specimen bodied by Murphy in 1931 that takes advantage of the longer wheelbase variant of the Model J to exhibit a superb Art Deco line.
Located in Pasadena, Walter J. Murphy is equipping the Duesenberg cars of Hollywood personalities at that time when Americans are amazed to finally acquire a high-end car made entirely in their country. Unfortunately, the crisis will soon slow the momentum towards luxury.
On September 26 in a formerly royal Danish castle, Bonhams sells a Duesenberg Model J bodied by Murphy as a roadster in 1930, lot 14 estimated DKK 17M. Its first owner had been typical of the customers targeted by Cord : a Hollywood photographer descendant to the Vanderbilt family.
This car remained highly original. It was never dismantled and its successive owners offered it for 60 years to the admiration of the demanding Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club. It has the rare and prestigious feature of the folding roof which was not in the catalog and required a specific customer request to Murphy.
A similar coupe made in the previous year was sold for $ 2.36M including premium by Gooding in August 2013. Both these cars can not however be compared with the coupe that sold for $ 10.3M including premium at Gooding in August 2011, a single specimen bodied by Murphy in 1931 that takes advantage of the longer wheelbase variant of the Model J to exhibit a superb Art Deco line.
1930 The Phaeton of the Master
2016 SOLD for $ 2.1M including premium
In 1930 the coachwork business of Walter M. Murphy located in Pasadena had all the keys to success.
Helped by skilled stylists, Murphy knew to equip chassis with bodyworks whose variety appealed the individualism of his Hollywood clients. The Model J of Duesenberg, released in 1928, was an opportunity for Murphy to capture the high-end market. For a wealthy industrialist, owning a Duesenberg coachworked by Murphy was an outward sign of social achievement.
Frank Hershey began his career with Murphy. He designed for the cumbersome model J open cars that seemed slight, with convertible tops and retractable side windows. The range offered by Murphy is wide : he provides to a roadster or a coupe the luxury of a limousine.
The dual cowl phaeton is a survival of the voitures from old times, with its two independent cowlings and its two compartments separated by an inner windshield to avoid mingling the social classes of maître and chauffeur. Assisted by Hershey, Murphy built three examples of that kind on the model J.
One of them was sold to John F. Howard, nicknamed the Mayonnaise King and company founder of the Howard Foods condiments. Probably after some setbacks, Howard and his Duesenberg left for Mexico where his former car will be found walled up in a parking lot in 1962 by a specialist of the brand.
Its excellent original condition was pleasing to an American collector. Having been kept for 54 years in the family of that owner, it is estimated $ 1.6M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Hershey PA on October 7, lot 253.
Helped by skilled stylists, Murphy knew to equip chassis with bodyworks whose variety appealed the individualism of his Hollywood clients. The Model J of Duesenberg, released in 1928, was an opportunity for Murphy to capture the high-end market. For a wealthy industrialist, owning a Duesenberg coachworked by Murphy was an outward sign of social achievement.
Frank Hershey began his career with Murphy. He designed for the cumbersome model J open cars that seemed slight, with convertible tops and retractable side windows. The range offered by Murphy is wide : he provides to a roadster or a coupe the luxury of a limousine.
The dual cowl phaeton is a survival of the voitures from old times, with its two independent cowlings and its two compartments separated by an inner windshield to avoid mingling the social classes of maître and chauffeur. Assisted by Hershey, Murphy built three examples of that kind on the model J.
One of them was sold to John F. Howard, nicknamed the Mayonnaise King and company founder of the Howard Foods condiments. Probably after some setbacks, Howard and his Duesenberg left for Mexico where his former car will be found walled up in a parking lot in 1962 by a specialist of the brand.
Its excellent original condition was pleasing to an American collector. Having been kept for 54 years in the family of that owner, it is estimated $ 1.6M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Hershey PA on October 7, lot 253.
1930 A Town Cord for Hollywood
2015 SOLD for $ 1.76M including premium
In 1929, EL Cord regrouped under his name into a single holding company three American luxury car brands, Duesenberg, Cord and Auburn, certainly with the idea of promoting well-differentiated product lines. He could not foresee that the economic crisis would reduce his ambitions to nothing within a few years.
The new chassis is the Cord L-29. It is one of the first attempts for the industrialization of a front wheel drive car.
Few Cord L-29 were coachworked by an independent workshop, unlike the most common practice for the high-end cars of that time. Among the exceptions, the L-29 Town Car was entrusted to Murphy, a craftsman who worked in Pasadena.
The Town Car is an extravagant car destined to please the most eccentric Hollywood personalities. It has a very lowered chassis along with a much lengthened front cover, and an enclosed cab carefully separated from the driver's seat.
Very few cars were made on this model by Cord and Murphy. One of the four surviving examples, made in 1930, is for sale by Bonhams in Amelia Island on March 12, lot 135.
It has obviously been seldom used and remains in an original condition which is extraordinary and unexpected for a car of that period. A plausible later tradition links this car to the actress Dolores del Rio who was then, at 25, one of cinema's brightest glories.
The new chassis is the Cord L-29. It is one of the first attempts for the industrialization of a front wheel drive car.
Few Cord L-29 were coachworked by an independent workshop, unlike the most common practice for the high-end cars of that time. Among the exceptions, the L-29 Town Car was entrusted to Murphy, a craftsman who worked in Pasadena.
The Town Car is an extravagant car destined to please the most eccentric Hollywood personalities. It has a very lowered chassis along with a much lengthened front cover, and an enclosed cab carefully separated from the driver's seat.
Very few cars were made on this model by Cord and Murphy. One of the four surviving examples, made in 1930, is for sale by Bonhams in Amelia Island on March 12, lot 135.
It has obviously been seldom used and remains in an original condition which is extraordinary and unexpected for a car of that period. A plausible later tradition links this car to the actress Dolores del Rio who was then, at 25, one of cinema's brightest glories.
1930 A German Body for a Cord L-29
2013 SOLD 1 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg were three main brands of a holding company created in 1929 by a former racing driver named EL Cord. He used his own name in 1929 when he launched the first production of a front wheel drive car, theCord L-29.
The L-29 and even better the Duesenberg Model J enabled the American cars to take their place among the greatest automobile wonders of the 1930s, competing by their power and luxury with the best of Bugatti, Mercedes and Rolls-Royce.
I have several times discussed the infinite visual variety of cars at that time, due to the fact that the bodies were carried out by independent workshops. A Cord L-29 for sale on March 9 in Amelia Island FL by RM Auctions had anextraordinary journey.
Made in 1930 with the other cars of the brand on the production line of Indiana, this chassis crossed the Atlantic. In February 1931, it had been coachworked in sport cabriolet by the Berliner workshop of Voll & Ruhrbeck and created a sensation at the Berlin Motor Show as a unique hybrid example of American technology and European taste.
This copy that had escaped from America did perhaps influence the Traction Avant Citroën of 1934, which will be a major success for the French automobile industry.
Out of public view for seven decades, the German bodied Cord had long traveled the pampas in Argentina. It is one of three Cord cars in this sale to come from the collection of Jim Fasnacht who completed its restoration.
I invite you to play the video shared on YouTube by RM Auctions, in which Mr. Fasnacht presents these three cars.
POST SALE COMMENT
This Cord with international ambitions won the hammer price of $ 900K, just shy of $ 1M after calculating the traditional 10% buyer's premium.
Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg were three main brands of a holding company created in 1929 by a former racing driver named EL Cord. He used his own name in 1929 when he launched the first production of a front wheel drive car, theCord L-29.
The L-29 and even better the Duesenberg Model J enabled the American cars to take their place among the greatest automobile wonders of the 1930s, competing by their power and luxury with the best of Bugatti, Mercedes and Rolls-Royce.
I have several times discussed the infinite visual variety of cars at that time, due to the fact that the bodies were carried out by independent workshops. A Cord L-29 for sale on March 9 in Amelia Island FL by RM Auctions had anextraordinary journey.
Made in 1930 with the other cars of the brand on the production line of Indiana, this chassis crossed the Atlantic. In February 1931, it had been coachworked in sport cabriolet by the Berliner workshop of Voll & Ruhrbeck and created a sensation at the Berlin Motor Show as a unique hybrid example of American technology and European taste.
This copy that had escaped from America did perhaps influence the Traction Avant Citroën of 1934, which will be a major success for the French automobile industry.
Out of public view for seven decades, the German bodied Cord had long traveled the pampas in Argentina. It is one of three Cord cars in this sale to come from the collection of Jim Fasnacht who completed its restoration.
I invite you to play the video shared on YouTube by RM Auctions, in which Mr. Fasnacht presents these three cars.
POST SALE COMMENT
This Cord with international ambitions won the hammer price of $ 900K, just shy of $ 1M after calculating the traditional 10% buyer's premium.
1931 The Long Wheelbase Duesenberg
2011 SOLD 10.3 M$ including premium
Captain Whittell was an exuberant American who had preserved his immense fortune by selling his shares just a few days before the financial crash of 1929. Such a character would have some Duesenbergs: he owned no less than six model J's.
At that time, customers bought the chassis and selected the body shop. The choice was great, which gives an infinite variety to Duesenberg vehicles.
The high end was the lengthened Model J chassis (long wheelbase). This huge machine 3.90 m long exceeded by 30 cm the standard (short wheelbase) Model J.
Whittell bought a long wheelbase in 1931 and made it equipped as a coupe by the stylist Franklin Hershey. The result is a surprising example of American Art Deco, including a folding roof that makes this car look like a convertible. The general shape is aerodynamic, anticipating the trend of the automotive design of the later 1930s.
It comes in the sale held in Pebble Beach on 20 and 21 August by Gooding. Totaling less than 20,000 km, it is in perfect working order.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold $ 10.3 million including premium, this car has certainly exceeded the most optimistic hopes. The press release issued before sale had been particularly enthusiastic.
At that time, customers bought the chassis and selected the body shop. The choice was great, which gives an infinite variety to Duesenberg vehicles.
The high end was the lengthened Model J chassis (long wheelbase). This huge machine 3.90 m long exceeded by 30 cm the standard (short wheelbase) Model J.
Whittell bought a long wheelbase in 1931 and made it equipped as a coupe by the stylist Franklin Hershey. The result is a surprising example of American Art Deco, including a folding roof that makes this car look like a convertible. The general shape is aerodynamic, anticipating the trend of the automotive design of the later 1930s.
It comes in the sale held in Pebble Beach on 20 and 21 August by Gooding. Totaling less than 20,000 km, it is in perfect working order.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold $ 10.3 million including premium, this car has certainly exceeded the most optimistic hopes. The press release issued before sale had been particularly enthusiastic.
1931 Phaeton against Speedster
2012 SOLD 1.3 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Money is flowing in Hollywood. This new community of wealthy personalities is eager to entertainment and socializing. Owning a luxury car is essential to sustain a social position.
A race between two cars is organized in 1932 at Lake Muroc near Los Angeles, in the presence of an outstanding crowd. For a wager of $ 25,000, a considerable amount at that time, it opposes two friends for the unofficial prestige of owning the most powerful car in Hollywood. Both cars are entrusted to professional drivers.
The Mercedes-Benz Speedster S model of the Marx Brothers, Zeppo and Chico, is really a racing car. Designed in 1927, it is impressive by its massive look that has not yet benefited from the effort of elegance of the 1930s.
It lost the race but gained a sweet revenge at auction when it was sold $ 3.74 million including premium by Gooding in August 2010.
The victorious Duesenberg belonged to Phil Berg, an agent of several stars and producers. For having some chance to win, the heavy 1931 model J Phaeton had been relieved of unnecessary equipment.
This elegant car coachworked by LeBaron is estimated $ 1.2 million, for sale by RM Auctions in Hershey on October 12. It is shown in the release shared by Sports Car Digest.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 1.3 million including premium, is consistent with the estimate. As anticipated, the Duesenberg remains far below the Mercedes-Benz competitor of its epic 1932 happening.
Money is flowing in Hollywood. This new community of wealthy personalities is eager to entertainment and socializing. Owning a luxury car is essential to sustain a social position.
A race between two cars is organized in 1932 at Lake Muroc near Los Angeles, in the presence of an outstanding crowd. For a wager of $ 25,000, a considerable amount at that time, it opposes two friends for the unofficial prestige of owning the most powerful car in Hollywood. Both cars are entrusted to professional drivers.
The Mercedes-Benz Speedster S model of the Marx Brothers, Zeppo and Chico, is really a racing car. Designed in 1927, it is impressive by its massive look that has not yet benefited from the effort of elegance of the 1930s.
It lost the race but gained a sweet revenge at auction when it was sold $ 3.74 million including premium by Gooding in August 2010.
The victorious Duesenberg belonged to Phil Berg, an agent of several stars and producers. For having some chance to win, the heavy 1931 model J Phaeton had been relieved of unnecessary equipment.
This elegant car coachworked by LeBaron is estimated $ 1.2 million, for sale by RM Auctions in Hershey on October 12. It is shown in the release shared by Sports Car Digest.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 1.3 million including premium, is consistent with the estimate. As anticipated, the Duesenberg remains far below the Mercedes-Benz competitor of its epic 1932 happening.
1933 A Phaeton by LaGrande
2017 SOLD for $ 2.3M including premium
From 1926 to 1937 the Duesenberg brand is owned by the Cord group. Its history leading from the extreme ambition to the fall follows the appearance and the evolution of the economic crisis.
Even in the most critical situations some people manage to find their profit. A stock broker named Smith acquires a considerable fortune. He needs a car of the highest performance with a spectacular bodywork. It will be a Duesenberg SJ LWB LaGrande phaeton, of course. LaGrande is the label by which Cord testifies that the bodywork is subcontracted by the group and not carried out by an independent.
The J-chassis has been the top-of-the-range since 1928. The Long Wheel Base version invites to the most extravagant bodies and especially for the open voitures de maîtres named phaetons. S indicates that the engine is supercharged.
The LaGrande phaetons are slightly different from each other but are divided into two variants, the dual cowl phaeton and the sweep panel phaeton. In the sweep panel phaeton the rear cowl is suppressed, offering an easier access to the rear seats and an extra comfort. This version includes on its entire width a folding interior windshield separating the rear seats for the use of the patron from the front seat of the driver.
The car delivered in 1933 to Smith is a sweep panel phaeton Duesenberg SJ LWB by LaGrande. The workshop that realized the body is unfortunately not identified. It has been known for several decades by members of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club under the name of Mexico City SJ.
It is in very good condition for a vehicle of its age. The body, engine and chassis are original but the supercharger did not survive a heavy early use and has been replaced by a replica in the correct configuration.
This car had already been introduced in my column. On October 10, 2008 at RM Auctions, it had not reached its lower estimate of $ 1.8M and had been sold post block for $ 1.7M including premium. I then commented that the times were hard : it was indeed the beginning of a major crisis in the market. It is estimated $ 2.5M for sale by Auctions America on September 2 in Auburn. Here is the link to the catalog.
Even in the most critical situations some people manage to find their profit. A stock broker named Smith acquires a considerable fortune. He needs a car of the highest performance with a spectacular bodywork. It will be a Duesenberg SJ LWB LaGrande phaeton, of course. LaGrande is the label by which Cord testifies that the bodywork is subcontracted by the group and not carried out by an independent.
The J-chassis has been the top-of-the-range since 1928. The Long Wheel Base version invites to the most extravagant bodies and especially for the open voitures de maîtres named phaetons. S indicates that the engine is supercharged.
The LaGrande phaetons are slightly different from each other but are divided into two variants, the dual cowl phaeton and the sweep panel phaeton. In the sweep panel phaeton the rear cowl is suppressed, offering an easier access to the rear seats and an extra comfort. This version includes on its entire width a folding interior windshield separating the rear seats for the use of the patron from the front seat of the driver.
The car delivered in 1933 to Smith is a sweep panel phaeton Duesenberg SJ LWB by LaGrande. The workshop that realized the body is unfortunately not identified. It has been known for several decades by members of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club under the name of Mexico City SJ.
It is in very good condition for a vehicle of its age. The body, engine and chassis are original but the supercharger did not survive a heavy early use and has been replaced by a replica in the correct configuration.
This car had already been introduced in my column. On October 10, 2008 at RM Auctions, it had not reached its lower estimate of $ 1.8M and had been sold post block for $ 1.7M including premium. I then commented that the times were hard : it was indeed the beginning of a major crisis in the market. It is estimated $ 2.5M for sale by Auctions America on September 2 in Auburn. Here is the link to the catalog.
1935 The Culmination of Duesenberg
2013 SOLD 4.5 M$ including premium
Both from a technical and aesthetic point of view, cars are constantly changing throughout the 1930s. A brand that targets the absolute upscale must evolve its models continuously.
J. Herbert Newport is entrusted by Duesenberg to fit a modernized body on the model J chassis. His masterpiece is a convertible coupe with the top of the doors in alignment with the front and back covers.
Three cars were coachworked on this model by a workshop of Indianapolis, AH Walker Body Company, which seems to have worked primarily, or even exclusively, for the Cord group during its short period of activity. Walker was one of the craftsmen to whom Cord attributed the LaGrande label as a mark for their bodywork.
One of these three cars was mounted on the Duesenberg SJ variant with a supercharged engine. This specimen made in 1935 is thus representing the culmination of this prestigious brand. This car is estimated $ 3.5M, for sale on March 9 in Amelia Island by RM Auctions. Here is the link to the release shared by Sports Car Digest.
This unique Duesenberg SJ Walker-LaGrande convertible coupe must be placed in its historical chronology.
Duesenberg soon loses the game, not because of the design but by failing to change in due time the specifications of the chassis.
The market is caught by Mercedes-Benz with their new model 540K, offering of course a wide range of bodies. The masterpiece of Hermann Ahrens, the 540K Spezial Roadster, has the same styling as the Walker-LaGrande convertible coupe.
Which one had imitated the other? Note that the 540K Spezial Roadster of the Baroness von Krieger, sold for $ 11.8 million including premium by Gooding in August 2012, is dated 1936, one year after the Duesenberg Walker-LaGrande.
POST SALE COMMENT
This car is one of the most outstanding in the history of Duesenberg. It was sold for $ 4.1 million hammer price, 4.5 million including the 10% premium.
J. Herbert Newport is entrusted by Duesenberg to fit a modernized body on the model J chassis. His masterpiece is a convertible coupe with the top of the doors in alignment with the front and back covers.
Three cars were coachworked on this model by a workshop of Indianapolis, AH Walker Body Company, which seems to have worked primarily, or even exclusively, for the Cord group during its short period of activity. Walker was one of the craftsmen to whom Cord attributed the LaGrande label as a mark for their bodywork.
One of these three cars was mounted on the Duesenberg SJ variant with a supercharged engine. This specimen made in 1935 is thus representing the culmination of this prestigious brand. This car is estimated $ 3.5M, for sale on March 9 in Amelia Island by RM Auctions. Here is the link to the release shared by Sports Car Digest.
This unique Duesenberg SJ Walker-LaGrande convertible coupe must be placed in its historical chronology.
Duesenberg soon loses the game, not because of the design but by failing to change in due time the specifications of the chassis.
The market is caught by Mercedes-Benz with their new model 540K, offering of course a wide range of bodies. The masterpiece of Hermann Ahrens, the 540K Spezial Roadster, has the same styling as the Walker-LaGrande convertible coupe.
Which one had imitated the other? Note that the 540K Spezial Roadster of the Baroness von Krieger, sold for $ 11.8 million including premium by Gooding in August 2012, is dated 1936, one year after the Duesenberg Walker-LaGrande.
POST SALE COMMENT
This car is one of the most outstanding in the history of Duesenberg. It was sold for $ 4.1 million hammer price, 4.5 million including the 10% premium.
1935 A Duesenberg amidst the Thoroughbred
2015 SOLD for $ 3.6M including premium
The history of Duesenberg reached its peak in 1935, in a sort of rush to avoid the bankruptcy of the Cord group. Hollywood was escaping the crisis and brought customers for this high luxury car brand.
Duesenberg is still offering the Model J chassis that was the best in the world five years earlier. The novelty of this range of cars is the SJ model with a supercharged engine. The making of the bodies is scattered among many independent workshops but the trends are now offered by the new chief designer J. Herbert Newport.
The bodywork company of Walter Murphy in Pasadena benefits from its proximity to Hollywood. A Cord Town car coachworked by Murphy in 1930 was sold for $ 1.76M including premium by Bonhams on March 12, 2015.
Murphy closed in 1932. Theit successor Bohman & Schwartz applied the recommendations of Newport. An elegant 1935 Duesenberg Town car equipped in SJ from factory is estimated $ 3.4M for sale without reserve by RM Sotheby's in Fort Worth TX on May 2, lot 231.
This car originally refused by Mae West was bought new by Ethel Mars, widow of the founder of the Mars Candy company, who used her great wealth to assemble the best American team of racing horses.
The 1935 Duesenberg coupe bodyworked by Walker LaGrande is another example of the beauty of the cars designed by Newport. The only SJ realized in this configuration was sold for $ 4.5 million including premium by RM on 9 March 2013.
Duesenberg is still offering the Model J chassis that was the best in the world five years earlier. The novelty of this range of cars is the SJ model with a supercharged engine. The making of the bodies is scattered among many independent workshops but the trends are now offered by the new chief designer J. Herbert Newport.
The bodywork company of Walter Murphy in Pasadena benefits from its proximity to Hollywood. A Cord Town car coachworked by Murphy in 1930 was sold for $ 1.76M including premium by Bonhams on March 12, 2015.
Murphy closed in 1932. Theit successor Bohman & Schwartz applied the recommendations of Newport. An elegant 1935 Duesenberg Town car equipped in SJ from factory is estimated $ 3.4M for sale without reserve by RM Sotheby's in Fort Worth TX on May 2, lot 231.
This car originally refused by Mae West was bought new by Ethel Mars, widow of the founder of the Mars Candy company, who used her great wealth to assemble the best American team of racing horses.
The 1935 Duesenberg coupe bodyworked by Walker LaGrande is another example of the beauty of the cars designed by Newport. The only SJ realized in this configuration was sold for $ 4.5 million including premium by RM on 9 March 2013.
1935 A Phaeton by Duesenberg
2014 SOLD for 1.27 M$ including premium
In 1926 Duesenberg became a subsidiary of Auburn, owned by Cord. During the next ten years, the three brands conduct a concerted effort to master the full range of American luxury cars. In this association, Duesenberg targets the rich and famous.
1929 is an important year for three reasons. The creation of Cord Corporation streamlines the legal structure of the group. The Duesenberg Model J chassis may actually emerge as the best in its class. The dual cowl phaeton bodywork designed and built by LeBaron is a spectacular novelty.
The phaeton is a convertible. The dual cowl is a social delicacy offering two compartments separated by a screen allowing rear passengers to be isolated from driver and front seater.
To stay on top, they must do ever better. In 1935, the SJ is a Model J fitted with a supercharged engine, with a top speed at 220 km/h. The prestige is not only related to the performance but also to the look. The dual cowl phaeton has been improved by Buehrig.
On August 30 in Auburn, Auctions America sells a Duesenberg SJ Dual Cowl Phaeton coachworked by LaGrande, manufactured in 1935, lot 5145. LaGrande is a label meaning that the bodybuilder was approved by Cord.
The phaeton is less luxurious than the convertible coupe. From the same year, the Duesenberg of Clark Gable was a convertible coupe JN, unsold in August 2012 by Gooding. Also made in 1935, the Duesenberg SJ that was sold for $ 4.5 million including premium by RM Auctions on March 9, 2013 was bodied by Walker-LaGrande.
The phaeton coming for sale, long preserved by careful collectors, is in a remarkable condition. This car is estimated over $ 1.4M.
1929 is an important year for three reasons. The creation of Cord Corporation streamlines the legal structure of the group. The Duesenberg Model J chassis may actually emerge as the best in its class. The dual cowl phaeton bodywork designed and built by LeBaron is a spectacular novelty.
The phaeton is a convertible. The dual cowl is a social delicacy offering two compartments separated by a screen allowing rear passengers to be isolated from driver and front seater.
To stay on top, they must do ever better. In 1935, the SJ is a Model J fitted with a supercharged engine, with a top speed at 220 km/h. The prestige is not only related to the performance but also to the look. The dual cowl phaeton has been improved by Buehrig.
On August 30 in Auburn, Auctions America sells a Duesenberg SJ Dual Cowl Phaeton coachworked by LaGrande, manufactured in 1935, lot 5145. LaGrande is a label meaning that the bodybuilder was approved by Cord.
The phaeton is less luxurious than the convertible coupe. From the same year, the Duesenberg of Clark Gable was a convertible coupe JN, unsold in August 2012 by Gooding. Also made in 1935, the Duesenberg SJ that was sold for $ 4.5 million including premium by RM Auctions on March 9, 2013 was bodied by Walker-LaGrande.
The phaeton coming for sale, long preserved by careful collectors, is in a remarkable condition. This car is estimated over $ 1.4M.
