What classic car combines luxury, style and elegance with
the mechanical precision of a Rolls-Royce and the amazing acceleration and
blinding speed of a Bugatti? You guessed it - the Duesenberg. Because of the
Deusenberg's amazing attributes, the phrase “it’s a doozy” emerged in the
1930’s to describe something that had the best of everything.
The Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was
founded 1913 by the Duesenberg Brothers, Fred and August, in St Paul,
Minneapolis. Born in Germany, the two brothers were self-taught engineers and
built their cars entirely by hand. Although they didn’t design their cars to be
racing machines, a Duesenberg set a Land Speed Record of 156 mph at Daytona in
1920. In 1921, Jimmy Murphy became the first American to win the French Grand
Prix driving a Duesenberg to victory at Le Mans. As late as 1960, the
Duesenberg was still the only American car to win a European Grand Prix race.
In 1924, 1925, and 1927, it was a Duesenberg which won at the Indianapolis 500.
Their numerous victories on the race track didn’t help them
sell their first mass produced vehicle - the Model A. Although this model was
considered extremely advanced, with features such as dual overhead cams,
four-valve cylinder heads and the first hydraulic brakes offered on a passenger
car; the company went bankrupt and closed in 1922. In 1925 Errett Lobban Cord,
the owner of Cord Automobile, bought the company for the Duesenberg Brothers'
engineering skills and the brand name to produce luxury cars - the Models J and
SJ.
Quickly the Duesenberg became one of the most famous cars in
America, owned by the rich and famous - Clark Gable and the Duke of Windsor to
name a few. Duesenberg advertised itself to be the best car in the world
without much opposition, but unfortunately had to cease production in 1937
after Cord's financial empire collapsed. Of 481 models produced between 1928 and
1937, 384 are still around - 4 of them being owned by Jay Leno.
source: http://classiccars.about.com/od/classiccarsaz/a/Duesenberg.htmby Tony and Michele Hamer
http://www.fzrestoration.com
FZ Restoration,
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