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Duesenberg

Coordinates:39°46′00″N86°11′17″W/ 39.76667°N 86.18806°W/39.76667; -86.18806
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For other uses, seeDuesenberg (disambiguation).

39°46′00″N86°11′17″W/ 39.76667°N 86.18806°W/39.76667; -86.18806

Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc.
Industry
  • Automobile manufacturing
  • Engine manufacturing
PredecessorDuesenberg Motors Company (1913–1919)
FoundedIndianapolis,Indiana,U.S. (1920(1920))
Founders
Defunct1937;87 years ago(1937)
FateDissolved
Headquarters
Auburn, Indiana
,
U.S.
Key people
  • August Duesenberg
    (co-founder)
  • Fred Duesenberg
    (co-founder)
  • Errett Lobban Cord
    (owner from 1926 to 1937)
Products
ParentAuburn Automobile Company

Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc.was an Americanracingandluxury automobilemanufacturer founded inIndianapolis,Indiana,by brothersFredandAugust Duesenbergin 1920. The company is known for popularizing thestraight-eight engineand four-wheelhydraulic brakes.A Duesenberg car was the first American car to win a Grand Prix race, winning the1921 French Grand Prix.Duesenbergs won theIndianapolis 500in 1922, 1924, 1925 and 1927. Transportation executiveErrett Lobban Cordacquired the Duesenberg corporation in 1926. The company was sold and dissolved in 1937.

History

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Half a share, issued in June 1921
The Murphy Special, in whichJimmy Murphywon the1921 French Grand Prixand the 1922Indianapolis 500

FredandAugust Duesenbergbegan designing engines in the early 1900s, after Fred became involved withbicycle racing.[1]The brothers designed a vehicle in 1905, and they formed theMason Motor Car Companyin 1906 with funds from lawyer Edward R. Mason inDes Moines,Iowa.[1]F.L.andElmer Maytagacquired a majority stake in the company and renamed it theMaytag-Mason Automobile Companyuntil they sold their stake in 1912.[2]

The Duesenberg brothers then moved toSaint Paul,Minnesota,where they established the Duesenberg Motors Company in 1913.Eddie Rickenbackerdrove the first Duesenberg-designed vehicle to race at theIndianapolis 500in 1914, placing tenth. DuringWorld War I,the Duesenbergs designed and built aircraft engines inElizabeth,New Jersey.A Duesenberg driven byTommy Miltonwon the 1919Elgin Trophy.[3]In 1919, the brothers sold their Saint Paul factories.[4]

In 1920, the Duesenberg brothers relocated toIndianapolis,Indiana,where they founded the Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, manufacturing theDuesenberg Model A.[5]The brothers assumed engineering roles after signing over the naming rights and patents for Duesenberg engines to promoters Newton E. Van Zandt and Luther M. Rankin.[6]: 40 The first ModelA was commissioned by Hawaiian businessman and politicianSamuel Northrup Castle.The car had a 260-cubic-inch (4.3 L)straight-eight enginethat output 88 horsepower (66 kW), the largest engine in a commercially available vehicle at the time, and was the first to have hydraulic brakes on all its wheels.[7][5]

The company continued to build race cars as well, and a Duesenberg driven byJimmy Murphywon the1921 French Grand Prix,the first American car to do so. Duesenberg cars also performed well at the Indianapolis 500 during the 1920s, winning the race in 1922, 1924, 1925 and 1927.[1][8]

Van Zandt left the company in 1921, after which it struggled financially and enteredreceivershipin 1924.[6]: 42 Duesenberg was purchased byErrett Lobban Cordin 1926. August's role in the passenger-car side of the business declined after Cord's takeover, and August worked primarily in Duesenberg's racing division after 1926, designing all Duesenberg race cars built from that year until the company's dissolution.[9]: 367 Two years later, Cord had the Duesenbergs make a new model to "outclass" all other American cars. In 1929, the company began selling theDuesenberg Model J,which was powered by a 265-horsepower (198 kW) straight-eight engine. The body and cabin were custom-built bycoachbuilders.Prices for the cars ranged from $14,000 to $20,000 at the time.[5]

Duesenbergs were considered to be among the most luxurious American cars ever made. HistorianDonald Davidsoncalled them the "most prestigious passenger car" in American history and likened them to an American version of theRolls-Royce.[10]The vehicles were popular with movie stars, royalty and other wealthy individuals. The company was sold by Cord and dissolved in 1937.[5]The last Duesenberg to be made by the original company was completed in 1940, commissioned by German artistRudolf Bauerand completed by August Duesenberg after the company had shut down.[11]

In 1998,The Franklin Mintstarted producing collectiblescale modelsofDuesenberg Coupé Simone,a fictitious custom-made luxury car allegedly manufactured in the late 1930s.[12]

Revivals

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Several unsuccessful attempts were made to revive the Duesenberg name.[10]August Duesenberg failed to restart the company in 1947, and an attempt by his son, Fritz, and car designerVirgil Exnerto revive the brand failed after the production of oneconcept carin 1966.[13][14]In 1970, Bernard Miller bought the Duesenberg Corporation and produced the SSJ model from templates taken from the original 1935 SSJ La Grande body. The body was aluminum over ash. There were grand plans for over 300 SSJ's to be produced but over the company's life span of 1970-1974 only 8 were completed.[15]

Duesenberg II

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1982 Duesenberg II - Royalton Dual Cowl Phaeton

In 1978, Elite Heritage Motors acquired the trademark for Duesenberg[16]and started producing the handmade "Duesenberg II" inElroy,Wisconsin,under the name Duesenberg Motors Company.[17]The "Duesenberg II" retained the styling of the cars from the 1920s and 1930s, but included some modern updates, such as stereo systems, air conditioning, and an automatic transmission.[18]Each "Duesenberg II" was precisely measured using an original example as a template. Over 5,000 manhours of craftsmanship was put into each car.[19]In 1981, a new Duesenberg II Royalton had a base price of $125,000.[20]The company produced several models, including the Torpedo sedan and phaeton, and the Murphy roadster.[17]The factory produced a total of 67 cars before closing in 2001.[20]

Products

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Model A (1921–1927)

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Main article:Duesenberg Model A
1923 Duesenberg Model Atouring carat theLouwman Museum

Duesenberg's first car was the Model A. It is powered by theDuesenberg Straight-8 engineand was the first car to bemass-producedwith a straight-eight.[7]The purchase price for a ModelA started at $6,500 (equivalent to $116,000 in 2023).[21]: 51 The Duesenberg ModelA introduced several innovative features, such as anoverhead camshaft,four-valvecylinder heads,and the first four-wheelhydraulic brakesoffered on a passenger car.[5][6]: 40 It had the largest engine of any consumer vehicle at the time of its production.[7]

The Duesenberg Model A experienced various delays going from prototype to production. Deliveries to dealers did not start until December 1921.[6]: 40 Sales lagged, and Duesenberg could not meet a 100-vehicles-per-month quota as the Indianapolis plant struggled to roll out one a day. In 1922, no more than 150 Duesenberg ModelAs were manufactured, with only a total of 650 units sold over a period of six years.[21]: 52 

Model X (1926–1927)

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The Model X is a sportier version of the ModelA with a heavier and longer (136 in (3,500 mm)wheelbase) chassis and 100 hp (75 kW) engine that enabled it to reach 100 mph (161 km/h).[22]The most notable differences between the Aand the X were that the latter had hypoid differentials and all its valves were on one side.[9]

The Duesenberg Model X chassis is an upgrade over the ModelA chassis, offering a reworked 260-cubic-inch (4.3 L) straight-8 engine, an overhead cam, with a new crankshaft, revised valve train, improved pistons and superior intake manifold. Power is 100 hp, which made driving at 100 mph (160 km/h) possible. The chassis length increased to 136 inches (3.5 m), with additional reinforcements. Improved leaf springs are mounted above the frame rails, thus, lowering the center of gravity. The Duesenberg ModelX chassis is the rarest Duesenberg street production chassis ever made, with only thirteen ever manufactured. Only five of the Duesenberg ModelXs manufactured are known to have survived.[23]

Model J (1928–1937)

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Main article:Duesenberg Model J
1930 J Walker La Grande TorpedoPhaeton

The first Model J prototype was created in 1927 and the first cars were delivered in 1929, shortly before the onset of theGreat Depression.About three hundred ModelJs were completed by 1930, short of the original 500-vehicle goal.[24]

Model J engine

The car's 7 L (420 cu in) engine was based on the company's racing engines of the 1920s and was manufactured by another Cord company,Lycoming.[25]: 73 It output 265 horsepower (198 kW), aided bydual overhead camshaftsand four valves per cylinder, making it the most powerful car of its time.[24][25]: 72 The ModelJ was capable of a top speed of 118 mph (190 km/h), and 88 mph (142 km/h) in second gear. Duesenberg historian Randy Ema wrote that the ModelJ spurred change in engine design, "single-handedly (starting) the horsepower race that drove the number of cylinders from twelve to sixteen," but noted those engines still could not match the ModelJ's power output.[24]

Only the chassis and engine of the ModelJ were displayed, as the body and cabin of the car were custom built per custom for luxury vehicles at the time. The company's chief body designer,Gordon Buehrigdesigned around half of the ModelJ bodies, while the remainder were designed by coachbuilders around the world, includingGurney Nutting,Murphy,andDerham,among others.[26]: 372 

The J was available in two versions of chassis with a different wheelbase; a longer one (153.54 in (3.90 m)) and a shorter one (about 141.73 in (3.60 m)). There were also other special sizes, like the SSJs with a wheelbase shortened to 125 in (3.18 m) and a few cars with the wheelbase extended to 160 in (4.1 m) and over.[22]

The supercharged Model J, referred to as the SJ, was reported to have reached 104 miles per hour (167 km/h) in second gear and have a top speed of 135–140 miles per hour (217–225 km/h) in third gear. Zero-to-60 mph (97 km/h) times of around eight seconds and 0–100 mph (0–161 km/h) in 17 seconds were reported for the SJ despite having an unsynchonized transmission, at a time when even the best cars of the era were not likely to reach 100 mph (160 km/h). The SJ had a wheelbase of 142.5 in (362 cm).[27]The SJ was introduced in 1932. Only 36 units were built.[9]: 367 A special version of the SJ, theMormon Meteor,broke several land speed records.[28]

Investors inNew York Cityoriginally supported the ModelJ, but following theStock market crash of 1929,the market for ModelJs switched toHollywoodstars.[24]Theone-offSJTwenty Grandwas produced in 1933 for theCentury of ProgressWorld's Fair to represent Duesenberg's automotive progress.[29]Two modified ModelJs, known as the SSJ, were produced in 1935 for actorsGary CooperandClark Gable.The SSJ reportedly produced 400 hp (298 kW) and could go 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in less than 8 seconds. Cooper's SSJ sold for $22 million in 2018, making it the most expensive American car ever sold at auction at the time.[30]About 378 of 481 ModelJs of all types still existed as of 2002.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcVanderstel, Sheryl D. (November 22, 1994). Bodenhamer, David J.; Barrows, Robert G. (eds.).Duesenberg, Fred S. and August S. "Augie".Indiana University Press.p. 513.ISBN978-0-253-11249-1.Archivedfrom the original on April 7, 2022.RetrievedMarch 29,2022.
  2. ^Barthelman, Ken (June 2, 2015)."Historic Maytag-Mason automobile now on exhibit".Newton Daily News.Archivedfrom the original on April 18, 2022.RetrievedApril 14,2022.
  3. ^"Elgin National Road Races History".kalracing.RetrievedJanuary 25,2024.
  4. ^Spaulding, George (April 28, 2007). "High-end carmaker was 'duesey'".The Post and Courier.
  5. ^abcdeButtermore, Gregg (November 22, 1994). Bodenhamer, David J.; Barrows, Robert G. (eds.).Duesenberg.Indiana University Press. pp. 513–514.ISBN978-0-253-11249-1.Archivedfrom the original on April 7, 2022.RetrievedMarch 29,2022.
  6. ^abcdBorgeson, Griffith (1984).Errett Lobban Cord: His empire, his motorcars: Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg.Princeton,New Jersey:Automobile Quarterly Publications.ISBN0915038358.
  7. ^abcShaw, Kristin V. (February 13, 2021)."1921 Duesenberg Model A Belonged to the Same Family for Almost a Century".The Drive.Archivedfrom the original on April 14, 2022.RetrievedApril 14,2022.
  8. ^Gershkovitch, Eli; McEwen, Harvey (September 3, 2004). "Real doozy debuts at Concours: Duesenberg to be seen Saturday was owner's 53-year labour of love".The Vancouver Sun.
  9. ^abcWolff, Raymond A. (Spring 1966)."Duesenberg: It's a grand old time".Automobile Quarterly.No. 4. Automobile Quarterly Inc.ISBN9781596131156.Archivedfrom the original on April 15, 2022.RetrievedApril 14,2022.
  10. ^abPointer, Michael (May 27, 2007). "Legendary landmarks".The Indianapolis Star.
  11. ^Apen, John (April 13, 2007)."The Longest Duesenberg".Bloomberg Businessweek.Archived fromthe originalon October 22, 2012.RetrievedApril 14,2022.
  12. ^"How Franklin Mint rocked scale model collectors with fictitious model".Automotive-Art.RetrievedMarch 7,2024.
  13. ^Jedlicka, Dan (January 24, 1999). "Marriage of muscle and magic; No car holds a candle to Duesenberg".Chicago Sun-Times.
  14. ^Phelan, Mark (July 14, 2019). "The Last Duesenberg is about to go to auction".Detroit Free Press.Gannett.
  15. ^The Duesenberg, Steinwedel, Louis William; Newport,J.Hebert; W.W. Norton & Company copyright 1982
  16. ^"US Patent Trademark Office".USPTO.
  17. ^abFlammang, James M. (February 13, 2002). "Duesenberg, muscle cars highlight Volo exhibit".Chicago Tribune.
  18. ^Wilno, Donald L. (February 25, 2000). "It's not a real doozie, but a good replica".Asbury Park Press.
  19. ^"Duesenberg II History".Volo Auto Museum.RetrievedMay 6,2024.
  20. ^abDamask, Kevin (April 2, 2016). "Elite Heritage Motors employees reunite; Elroy plant produced classic Duesenberg II".Juneau County Star-Times.
  21. ^abMueller, Mike (2006).American Horsepower: 100 Years of Great Car Engines(1st ed.).Motorbooks.ISBN978-0-7603-2327-4.Archivedfrom the original on March 13, 2021.RetrievedOctober 24,2020.
  22. ^abKimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr., Henry Austin; Dunwoodie, Ralph; Marvin, Keith (1996).Standard catalog of American cars, 1805-1942(3rd ed.).Iola,Wisconsin:Krause Publications.ISBN978-0873414289.
  23. ^Branch, Ben (April 22, 2019)."The Duesenberg Model X – The Rarest of the Production Duesenbergs".Silodrome.Archivedfrom the original on August 12, 2022.RetrievedAugust 22,2022.
  24. ^abcdEma, Randy (August 8, 2007)."The Duesenberg: The Grandest Yet".MSN.Archived fromthe originalon February 16, 2012.RetrievedApril 14,2022.
  25. ^abCheetham, Craig, ed. (2006).Vintage cars(Annotated ed.).Saint Paul,Minnesota:Motorbooks.ISBN9780760325728.
  26. ^Buehrig, Gordon (Spring 1966)."I remember the Duesenberg".Automobile Quarterly.No. 4. Automobile Quarterly Inc.ISBN9781596131156.Archivedfrom the original on April 15, 2022.RetrievedApril 14,2022.
  27. ^Cheetham, Craig, ed. (2006).Ultimate American cars.Osceola,Wisconsin: Motorbooks.ISBN0-7603-2570-7.
  28. ^Leno, Jay(February 22, 2009)."Jay Leno: Duesy Set Bonneville Records in 1930s that Stand Today".Popular Mechanics.Archivedfrom the original on September 19, 2022.RetrievedApril 14,2022.
  29. ^Dore, Nicole (March 4, 2021)."1980 Best of Show Winner".Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.RetrievedMarch 14,2023.
  30. ^Berk, Brett (November 18, 2016)."Driving Gary Cooper's 1935 Duesenberg SSJ".Car and Driver.Archivedfrom the original on May 8, 2022.RetrievedApril 14,2022.
  31. ^Georgano, G. N. (2002).A world of wheels: Early and vintage years 1886-1930; The golden era of coachbuilding.Broomhall,Pennsylvania:Mason Crest Publishers.ISBN9781590844915.
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