Duesenberg

Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was established in 1920 by brothers Fred and August Duesenberg. The brothers had established a strong reputation by designing engines in the early 1900s after Fred became involved with bicycle racing. Their first Automobile was designed  in 1905 and in 1906, and they formed the Mason Motor Car Company with funds from lawyer Edward R. Mason in Des Moines, Iowa. Billed as “The Fastest and Strongest 2 cylinder car in America”, the Mason proved its worth and was successful in hill climb and later racing events.  F. L. Maytag and his son  Elmer of washing machine fame, acquired a majority stake in the company and renamed it the Maytag-Mason Automobile Company and moved production to Waterloo, Iowa. Various fits and starts typical of the early days of Auto manufacturers beset the firm, and the Brothers sold their stake in 1912, moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota and established the first iteration of the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, producing the 4 cylinder walking beam engine they had designed for the Mason racing cars, among other Auto and Marine engines. Eddie Rickenbacker drove the first Duesenberg-designed vehicle to race at the Indianapolis 500 in 1914, placing tenth, and other successes in racing soon made the brothers famous, and funding for their ideas was easier to obtain. As WWI arrived and racing was put on hold, the Duesenbergs were lured to Elizabeth NJ by investors who built them a large plant for production of aircraft and marine engines for the War effort. At the War’s end, the brothers were creatively restless and designed an overhead camshaft 8 Cylinder engine, which their employers did not share their enthusiasm for; so they sold their interest in the Walking Beam and departed for Indianapolis where they could be closer to the center of Automotive development, with easy access to the Indianapolis 500 track, which was used for testing primarily outside of the Annual 500 Mile race.

In 1920 they launched the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, and assumed engineering roles after signing over the naming rights and patents for Duesenberg engines to promoters Newton E. Van Zandt and Luther M. Rankin. The firm set about manufacturing the Duesenberg Eight (later dubbed the Model A by Historians) which first appeared at the 1920 New York Auto Salon creating a sensation. The show car had a push rod Straight 8 and Hydraulic Brakes. Production delays caused by Fred Duesenberg’s insistence that the car use the Overhead Camshaft 8 caused the first deliveries to be in 1922.  The first Duesenberg was commissioned by Hawaiian businessman and politician Samuel Northrup Castle. This car survives and currently resides in the ACD Museum in Auburn IN.

Duesenberg continued to build race cars as well, and a Duesenberg race car won the 1921 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.

Struggling financially, the firm went into receivership in 1924 after about 600 cars had been produced. It was purchased by E L Cord and absorbed into his growing conglomerate centered around the Auburn Automobile Company in 1926. Two years later, Cord directed the Duesenberg’s to design an even larger and more expensive car, to "outclass" all other American cars, with a chassis price of $10,000.00.  They would never have done this otherwise having just failed at producing a $6,000.00 chassis profitably, so E L Cords hand in the legendary Model J is not to be underestimated.  

August's role in the passenger car side of the business declined after Cord's takeover, and August worked primarily in the Duesenberg's racing division after 1926, designing all Duesenberg race cars built from that year until the company's dissolution. About a dozen cars were produced during the development of the Model J to keep interest up, they were dubbed “Model X” cars and were built using remaining parts, and there was one “Model Y” car built, the first car to feature the new J Engine.  

To say that the Model J met and exceeded and EL Cords expectations would probably be an understatement.   The Model J was and is without a doubt the most spectacular over the top car ever produced, let alone produced at the time. Available on two long wheel bases and delivered as a bare chassis with grill hood cowl and dashboard, each chassis was tested at the Indy 500 track prior to delivery.  The 265 Cu IN Dual Overhead cam Engine produced 265 HP, nearly 100 more than any other car produced at the time and twice what most high priced luxury cars offered.  Its 2 speed non synomized gearbox allowed the car to be going faster than most cars top speed coming out of first gear.  Bodied by the finest Coachbuilders the world over, the Duesenberg J quickly became the most desired car in the world, and was popular among the Hollywood elite, and captains of industry the world over.  Roughly 600 engines were cast as an initial run, but the onset of the Great Depression shortly after the model launch ensured this would be the only run of engines produced.       

Prices for the cars ranged from $14,000 to $20,000 at the time. Most of the Model Is were produced in the first few years with the end coming in roughly 1934, coinciding with the demise of the Stutz up the street. The company was sold by Cord and dissolved in 1937. The last Duesenberg to be made by the original company was completed in 1940, commissioned by German artist Rudolf Bauer and completed by August Duesenberg after the company had shut down.