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  Germany, the two brothers were self taught engineers. Duesenberg cars were  built entirely by hand. In 1914 Eddie Rickenbacker  finished in 10th place at the Indianapolis 500 in a Duesenberg, and  Duesenberg cars won the race in 1924, 1925, and 1927. 1923 saw the only use of the Duesenberg as the pace car at the Indianapolis 500. 

Duesenberg  stunned the world in 1921 by winning the French Grand Prix; they were the  only American manufacturer to  win the event. Jimmy Murphy drove. The three liter race car featured a state of the art eight cylinder engine and hydraulic drum brakes. Grand Prix engine below.

Duesenberg moved to a new headquarters and factory in Indianapolis in July of 1921 to begin production of passenger vehicles. Duesenberg entered the domestic passenger car market with the Model A, which incorporated many of the features that made the Grand Prix race car successful.  It was considered extremely advanced, offering features such as dual overhead cams, and four valve cylinder heads. It was the first road car ever to be fitted with hydraulic drum brakes. 1926 model below. 

Unlike the race cars, the road cars were not an immediate success. The Duesenberg brothers were great designers and engineers, but their business and marketing talents were poor. Low sales (only 667 Model As were built) pushed Duesenberg to the verge of bankruptcy.  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 stepped in and bought the company in 1926; he  abandoned the  Model A and asked Fred Duesenberg to design a large, luxurious,  powerful chassis to be bodied by various coach builders.

Introduced at the 1928 New York Auto Show, the Duesenberg Model J was the result of a design  influenced by both Duesenberg's  racing history and owner Errett Lobban Cord's demands. Cord wanted the new Duesenberg to be the greatest American car ever, to be built with  no expense spared.  The design team was led by Fred Duesenberg.

Named the Model J, the new Duesenberg was equipped with a wide variety of technical novelties. The chassis was simple with a ladder frame and solid axles front and rear. Six cross members made sure the chassis was strong and could accommodate all body types. An ingenious system automatically started lubricating various parts of the chassis after sixty to eighty miles. Two lights on the dashboard indicated the lubrication progress and two others lit up at 750 and 1500 miles indicating the need for an oil change and battery check respectively.

The engine, of course, is what made the J stand out from its competition. With 32 valves, double overhead camshafts and a detachable head, this  was the most advanced engine ever designed in the United States. Displacing just under 6.9 liters, the engine produced an astounding 265 hp, more than could be tested on any contemporary dynomometer. Designed by Fred Duesenberg, the engine was constructed by  engine builder Lycoming, which had also been acquired by E.L. Cord.

Duesenberg constructed rolling chassis, which coach builders like LeBaron, Murphy, and  Derham, Hibbard and Darrin, and Brunn would  body. A rolling chassis  included all mechanical parts, dashboard, front fenders, radiator grille, running boards, bumpers, and optional swiveling spotlights. The chassis were shipped to coach builders to be fitted with a body or the other way around. To make sure a wide variety of bodies was available, a blueprint of the J was sent to all major coach builders six months before the New York show. From 1930 on Duesenberg ordered bodies in small batches and offered complete cars.

Despite the enthusiastic public response at the New York show, sales were disappointing, mostly because of the price. The estimated production figure of 500 cars per year was never achieved, and eventually only 481 Model Js were constructed. The Model J was popular with the rich and famous; Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, James Cagney, and Greta Garbo were customers. Various kings and queens of foreign countries were Model J owners as well. 

A series of minor modifications were carried out during the production life, but most of the design remained the same up until the factory closed in 1937. First to go was the four speed transmission, which was  unable to handle the engine's power. It was replaced by a non synchromesh 3 speed gearbox, which would be installed in all Duesenbergs to come.  Duesenberg did not switch to a fully synchronized gearbox in the mid 1930s, which made the Model J difficult to drive and outdated compared to its competitors.

Throughout the production run, the engine dimensions stayed the same. An increase of 55 bhp was achieved by adding a supercharger. Only a handful of supercharged Model Js were constructed and they are today commonly known as the Model SJ, a name never used by Duesenberg.

 A final design modification  was the addition of ram horn intakes on the last supercharged models. Fitted in a short wheelbase chassis, this engine reportedly produced up to 400 bhp. Two of these "Super Duesenbergs" were constructed and are referred to as SSJs, again a designation never used by the factory. Clark Gable and Gary Cooper each owned one of the two very rare SSJ  convertibles and were said to continually modify the designs while the coachwork was being built. The SSJ's top speed is estimated to be close to 160 mph, faster than any other pre War road car. Gable's car below, Cooper's gray car below that. .

Production ceased in 1937 mainly because of the depression. The Model J's development stopped in 1932, when Fred Duesenberg died from the results of a car crash. By 1937 the chassis and gearbox were ancient compared to the competition and a thorough redesign was needed to make Duesenberg competitive with the newer Cadillacs, Packards, and Imperials. The Cord company had lost interest in Duesenberg, however, which business wise had  never lived up to expectations.  E.L. Cord had left the company, and there went the enthusiasm required to keep Duesenberg alive.

One of the most oft told stories about the Model J underlined the engine's incredible power; the Model J could smoothly accelerate from 10 mph to 89 mph in second gear. 0-60 took 8 seconds, amazing for a 5000 lb car in an era when most other cars wouldn't even do 60 mph period. 

The supercharged Model J (referred to as SJ) was introduced in 1932  with 320 HP  and a top speed of 135 - 140 mph. Special bodied models, such as the later  Mormon Meteor chassis, achieved an average speed of over 135 mph and a one hour average of over 152 mph at Bonneville. The SJ's supercharger was located beside the engine; to make room for it, the exhaust pipes were corrugated so they could be bent easily and extended through the side panel of the hood. These supercharged cars can be recognized by these shiny corrugated  tubes, which Cord registered as a trademark and used in his other supercharged Cord and Auburn models. 

In 1966 there was an attempt to revive the name, headed by August's son Fritz. Designed by Virgil Exner, the prototype was built on an Imperial chassis and powered by a 440 engine. It was built by Ghia at a cost of $60,000.00. The prototype now resides in the A-C-D Museum in Auburn, Ind. At $19,500, this Duesenberg was double the price of a new Rolls-Royce, but at its launch, the makers claimed to have 25 deposits of $5,000 from serious buyers, including  Phil Wrigley, the chewing gum tycoon,  Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lewis. Fifty were to have been produced in the first year, rising to 200 in 1967. A limousine and convertible  were planned, but the project hit trouble: the prototype was seized by US Marshals when it was revealed that Duesenberg had failed to pay its salesmen a commission. Production never started.

 All in all, it remains perhaps the greatest classic marque of all time; dedicated to being nothing but "the best," the Duesey represents the philosophy Chrysler tried to emulate with the 300. Today, Dueseys command prices well into the millions. Only guys like the out of work gas station attendant below can afford them!

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