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Deusenberg Automobile & Motors Company
In 1913 the Duesenberg Brothers, Fred and August, founded Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa, at 8th and Grand Ave,, to build sports cars. Born in 1876 and 1879 in Germany, the two brothers were self taught engineers and built many experimental cars. Duesenberg cars were considered some of the very best cars built at the time, and were built entirely by hand. In 1914 Eddie Rickenbacker drove a “Duesy” to finish in 10th place at the Indianapolis 500 and a Duesenberg car won the race in 1924, 1925 and 1927. 1923 saw the only use of a Duesenberg as a pace car at the Indianapolis 500. In 1921 Jimmy Murphy became the first American to win the French Grand Prix when he piloted a Duesenberg to victory at the Le Mans racetrack. Although the Duesenberg brothers were world class engineers, they were unable to sell their model A car, their first mass produced vehicle, which was considered very advanced. Instead, the company went bankrupt and closed.
E.L Cord the owner of the Cord Automobile Company, Auburn Automobile Company and many other transportation companies, bought the company for the Duesenberg Brothers engineering skills in 1925 and the brand name to produce luxury cars. Hiring Fred Duesenberg to design the chassis and an engine that would be the best in the world, the newly revived Duesenburg motor company set about to produce the model J. The model J Duesenberg was first available at the New York Car show in 1928. In unsupercharged form it boasted a whopping 265 horsepower, straight 8, dual overhead camshafts, and was capable of top speeds of 119 mph, and 94 mph in second gear.
Only the chassis and the engine were on display at the 1928 Car Show, since the interior and body of the car would be custom made by an experienced coach-builder to the owners specifications. The body work made for Duesenberg's came from both North America and Europe, and the finished cars comprised some of the largest, grandest, most beautiful and most elegant cars ever created. The chassis cost $8500.00 about $100.000 in 2004. The complete base model cost $13,500, and for 20,000 you could have the top of the line Duesenberg. Introduced in 1932 was the Duesenburg SJ supercharged 325 Hp which had a top speed of 135 Mph. Quickly the Duesenberg became one of the most famous cars in America, owned by the rich and the famous. Among them Clark Gable and the Duke of Windsor. Duesenberg's advertising claimed it was the best cars in the world. Duesenberg ceased production in 1937 after Cord's financial empire collapsed due to the Great Depression. Of the 481 Model J's and SJ's produced between 1929 and 1937, 384 are still extant. There was a gradual evolution up to the 1937 model, that preserved the "stately lines" while moving into a more integrated mode of styling. Since 2000, original Duesenburg's have sold at auction for as much as two million dollars.
The Duesenberg Model A & X
1913-1927
The Cord Corporation & the Model J
1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937
The Registry The Uncertain Future
(Click Here) 1966
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