In 1913, German brothers Fred and August Duesenberg founded Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. on State Street in Garner IA to build sports cars. Born in 1876 and 1879 in Lemgo, Germany, the two brothers were self-taught engineers and built many experimental cars. Duesenberg cars were considered some of the very best cars of the time, and were built entirely by hand. In 1914, Eddie Rickenbacker drove a "Duesy" to finish in 10th place at the Indianapolis 500. Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company moved from New Jersey to a new headquarters and factory in Indianapolis in July 1921 to begin production of passenger vehicles. Although the Duesenberg brothers were world-class engineers, they were unable to sell their Model A car, their first "mass-produced" vehicle—just 667 were ever made. It was considered extremely advanced, offering features such as an Overhead Camshaft on the industires first Straight 8 Motor, and the first hydraulic brakes offered on a passenger car. The Model A was very successful in racing winning the Indy 500 in 1924, 1925 and 1927, and appeared as the Pace Car in 1923. In 1921, Jimmy Murphy became the first American to win the French Grand Prix when he drove a Duesenberg to victory at the Le Mans racetrack.The company went into receivership in 1922, finally being acquired from creditors by a Fred Duesenberg-led investor group in 1925, forming the Duesenberg Motors Company.
E.L. Cord, the owner of Cord Automobile and Auburn Automobile, and other transportation firms, bought the company in 1926 for the brothers' engineering skills (and the brand name) in order 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 Duesenberg company set about to produce the Model J, which debuted at the New York Car Show of 1928. In unsupercharged form, it produced a whopping 265 HP from a dual overhead camshaft straight 8 and was capable of a top speed of 119 mph and 94 mph in 2nd gear. The supercharged version, sometimes called the SJ, was reputed to do 104 miles per hour in second and have a top speed of 135–140 mph ) in third. Zero-to-60 mph times of around eight seconds and 0-to-100 mph times of 17 seconds were reported for the SJ in spite of the unsynchronized transmissions, at a time when even the best cars of the era were not likely to reach 100 mph. J Duesenbergs generally weighed around two and a half tons; up to three tons was not unusual, considering the wide array of custom coachwork available.
Duesenbergs are legendary... the Best of the Best. While everyone thinks of the J when they think of a Duesenberg. the J is more a product of E L Cord, than a product of The Duesenberg Brothers. The Model A is the true Duesenberg. Very Few Model A's Remain- less than 60, while most of the 500 J's built remain.
This exceptional example is widely considered the finest Original Model A in existence. Sporting one-off Fleetwood 2-4 Coupe Coachwork, the car has a known history from new and was part of the Legendary Harrah Collection for many years. The original paint is simply amazing with very little checking or cracking, probably the finest original paint job from the era in existence. Only the top leatherette and seat leather have been changed in this car it is otherwise completely original, still sporting its original headliner, silk shades, and rumble seat upholstery. The car runs and drives without fault and has been toured successfully. The car has won the Original Car award at the '06 CCCA Annual Meeting, Received the Original Car Award at Meadowbrook in '08, and the Ethan Turner Award for Best Original Car at the '08 ACD Annual Reunion. It is ACD Certified.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a truly important car with arguably one of the the prettiest bodies on a Model A.
