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
Predecessor	Duesenberg Motors Company (1913–1919)
Founded	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. (1920 (1920))
Founders	August Duesenberg Fred Duesenberg
Defunct	1937; 88 years ago (1937)
Fate	Dissolved
Headquarters	Auburn, Indiana , U.S.
Key people	August Duesenberg (co-founder) Fred Duesenberg (co-founder) Errett Lobban Cord (owner from 1926 to 1937)
Products	Model A Model X Model J
Parent	Auburn Automobile Company

Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was an Americanracing andluxury automobile manufacturer founded inIndianapolis, Indiana, by brothersFred andAugust Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing thestraight-eight engine and 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 500 in1922 (when eight of the top ten finishers were Duesenbergs),1924,1925 and1927. Transportation executiveErrett Lobban Cord acquired the Duesenberg corporation in 1926. The company was sold and dissolved in 1937.

Fred andAugust Duesenberg began 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 Company in 1906 with funds from lawyer Edward R. Mason inDes Moines,Iowa.^[1]F. L. andElmer Maytag acquired a majority stake in the company and renamed it theMaytag-Mason Automobile Company until 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 Rickenbacker drove the first Duesenberg-designed vehicle to race at theIndianapolis 500 in 1914, placing tenth. DuringWorld War I, the Duesenbergs designed and built aircraft engines inElizabeth,New Jersey. A Duesenberg driven byTommy Milton won 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 Model A was commissioned by Hawaiian businessman and politicianSamuel Northrup Castle. The car had a 260-cubic-inch (4.3 L)straight-eight engine that 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 Murphy won 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 enteredreceivership in 1924.^[6]: 42 Duesenberg was purchased byErrett Lobban Cord in 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 Davidson called 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 Bauer and completed by August Duesenberg after the company had shut down.^[11]

In 1998,The Franklin Mint started producing collectiblescale models ofDuesenberg Coupé Simone, a fictitious custom-made luxury car allegedly manufactured in the late 1930s.^[12]

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 Exner to revive the brand failed after the production of oneconcept car in 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]

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]

In 1996, the Duesenberg name was revived by Minnesota based company Duesenberg Custom Coach. Designed byJeff Teague, the new 'Duesenberg Torpedo Coupe' would feature a radicalaxialtwelve-cylinder engine layout known as a 'Cylindrical Energy Module' or CEM.^[21] Adapted from afirefighting pump design by car designerEddie Paul, the CEM would rotate on an axis, sucking in fuel and providing self lubrication and was capable of running on eitherpetrol ordiesel.^[22] The powerplant would also allegedly create only 1/6th of the heat of a conventional engine, meaningair cooling would be sufficient. AMercedes V12 engine was planned to be used if this powerplant prove to be too costly or difficult to implement.^[22] Alongside this, the Torpedo coupe would be the first production automobile to useBoseelectromagnetic suspension, alongside incorporating a number of new innovative technologies.^[23]

Despite plans of producing between 25 and 50 units per year, the project never materialised.

Duesenberg's first car was the Model A. It is powered by theDuesenberg Straight-8 engine and was the first car to bemass-produced with a straight-eight.^[7] The purchase price for a Model A started at $6,500 (equivalent to $120,000 in 2024).^[24]: 51 The Duesenberg Model A introduced several innovative features, such as anoverhead camshaft, four-valvecylinder heads, and the first four-wheelhydraulic brakes offered 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 Model As were manufactured, with only a total of 650 units sold over a period of six years.^[24]: 52

The Model X is a sportier version of the Model A 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).^[25] The most notable differences between the A and 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 Model A 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 Model X chassis is the rarest Duesenberg street production chassis ever made, with only thirteen ever manufactured. Only five of the Duesenberg Model Xs manufactured are known to have survived.^[26]

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 Model Js were completed by 1930, short of the original 500-vehicle goal.^[27]

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.^[28]: 73 It output 265 horsepower (198 kW), aided bydual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, making it the most powerful car of its time.^{[27][28]: 72} The Model J was capable of a top speed of 116 mph (187 km/h), and 88 mph (142 km/h) in second gear. Duesenberg historian Randy Ema wrote that the Model J 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 Model J's power output.^[27]

Only the chassis and engine of the Model J 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 Buehrig designed around half of the Model J bodies, while the remainder were designed by coachbuilders around the world, includingGurney Nutting,Murphy, andDerham, among others.^[29]: 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.^[25]

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 unsynchronized 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).^[30] 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.^[31]

Investors inNew York City originally supported the Model J, but following theStock market crash of 1929, the market for Model Js switched toHollywood stars.^[27] Theone-off SJTwenty Grand was produced in 1933 for theCentury of Progress World's Fair to represent Duesenberg's automotive progress.^[32] Two modified Model Js, known as the SSJ, were produced in 1935 for actorsGary Cooper andClark 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.^[33] About 378 of 481 Model Js of all types still existed as of 2002.^[34]

• Auburn Automobile
• Cord Automobile
• Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum
• Duesenberg Straight-8 engine

• Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club