Duesenberg

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Duesenberg Motor Company
legal form various, under public law
founding 1913
resolution 1937
Reason for dissolution Parent company bankruptcy
Seat Indianapolis , Indiana , United States
Branch vehicle construction

Duesenberg J Judkins, built in 1930
Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Co. shares dated June 13, 1921
Duesenberg Convertible SJ LA Grand Dual-Cowl Phaeton, built in 1935
Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Coupe, built in 1929 in front of the house where the Duesenbergs were born in Kirchheide , 2007

Duesenberg Motor Company was an American automobile manufacturer .

history

The brothers Friedrich (Fritz, later Frederick, Fred; 1876–1932) and August (later called Augie ; 1879–1955) Düsenberg were born in Matorf-Kirchheide (now part of Lemgo ) as the sons of Konrad Heinrich Ludwig and Konradine Düsenberg. The father died in 1881. The widowed mother emigrated in 1885 with her six children to the United States in Iowa . After a short time, the ü in the last name became an English-spelling-compatible ue ; Friedrich and August then called themselves Fred and Augie .

Fred founded a company that made bicycles in 1897 and where the brothers also built their first motorized bicycle . From 1902 on, Fred dedicated himself to tuning cars from other manufacturers. In 1903 the company filed for bankruptcy. From 1905 the brothers were employed by the Mason Motor Company in Des Moines (Iowa), for which they developed the Marvel .

The Duesenberg Motor Company (DMC) was founded in St. Paul , Minnesota in 1913 . It first developed a four-cylinder engine, later an in-line eight-cylinder engine with 4.3 l displacement and 90  hp . During the First World War , DMC supplied engines for boats and planes in the British Army and in France. After the war Duesenberg also built automobiles again. In addition to success in the Indianapolis race , a Duesenberg set a world record in 1920 with 251 km / h; In 1921 a Duesenberg won the French Grand Prix in Le Mans. From 1921 the Duesenberg Model A with a 4.3 liter inline eight-cylinder engine was developed as a series vehicle , which was further developed into the Model X in 1926 .

In 1926 Errett Lobban Cord acquired the company; he had bought the Auburn Automobile Company two years earlier . The Duesenberg brothers stayed with the company in leading positions. As a result, vehicles and engines for the Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg brands were jointly developed and built - a procedure similar to that of Bentley and Rolls-Royce in Europe after their merger. The cars were now produced in the Auburn halls. In the Cord Company holding company, the Duesenberg cars were always the top models with the highest reputation (and the highest prices) of all brands.

The Duesenberg cars were trend-setting, not only due to their reliability, but also with technical solutions - with hydraulic brakes , DOHC - four-valve technology and supercharging - also in the civilian versions that were driven by kings, movie stars and gang bosses. The model J presented in 1929 had a displacement of 6.9 l, an output of 265  hp and a top speed of 180 km / h. Its successor, the SJ , had a turbocharged engine and in 1932 it achieved 320 hp and a top speed of 243 km / h.

As was customary and typical at the time, Duesenberg only supplied engines and chassis. The superstructures were made by body builders, saddlers and joiners individually according to customer requirements. These included Derham , LeBaron , Murphy , Rollston and Waterhouse, the most expensive and exclusive companies in the industry. There were and are no two identical Duesenbergs - each vehicle was unique. It was not until 1930 that Duesenberg launched its own range of factory-made bodies, which were ascribed to the fictional body manufacturer LaGrande , but which were actually manufactured by small, largely unknown companies in Indianapolis.

The new price of an SJ today would be around 1.5 million euros. Duesenberg could afford to choose its customers. It was not enough to simply be able to present the corresponding purchase price. Only when the customer met the Duesenbergs' expectations did business come about. When the first Duesenbergs appeared in gangster circles in Chicago and New York, including bank robberies using the fast vehicles as escape cars, the Duesenberg brothers were very concerned about the reputation of their brand.

Duesenberg also developed a W24 boat engine with which HE Dodge Jr. (son of Horace Elgin Dodge ) broke the 100 mph limit (around 161 km / h) for the first time on the water in 1937 .

On July 26, 1932, Fred had a fatal accident while driving back from work over Ligonier Mountain, Pennsylvania. With the death of Fred Duesenberg, the company lost its ingenious designer. His brother August survived him by more than twenty years; he died on January 19, 1955.

In the automotive industry, all-steel bodies were increasingly produced in those years when there were sufficiently powerful hydraulic presses for large sheet metal parts such as fenders, hoods and roofs. As a result, the vehicle manufacturer principle of separate production of chassis and drive on the one hand and the subsequent separate body construction on the other hand disappeared in passenger cars in favor of an integrated overall production (chassis, technology and body) in a single company, such as B. Ford practiced it.

The importance of the Duesenberg brand declined. In 1937 the production of Duesenberg automobiles ended after the parent company Cord Corporation went bankrupt.

Duesenberg vehicles are traded from around one million US dollars, sometimes at auctions. Sales of Duesenberg cars over the past decade can be counted on the fingers of one hand; once you have a “duesie”, you usually don't give it up anymore. Duesenberg sales have only come about since 1970 after deaths of owners, such as B. in the dissolution of the "Harrah's Collection" of William F. Harrah, a casino owner in Nevada, whose car collection went on a European tour after his death before it was partially auctioned. Among other things, an Auburn Speedster and all three Harrah Duesenberg cars were on display in Düsseldorf in June 1979 in the Alte Messe. Around half of the 650 Duesenbergs ever made should still be ready to drive. Other sources speak of 470 vehicles produced.

Only about 30 of the Duesenberg cars produced made it to Europe; a large number of them did not survive the chaos of war. The reputation of the Duesenberg cars in the USA can only be compared to Rolls-Royce vehicles in European standards, but in addition to the luxury of the high price, it also has the plus of high performance and sportiness. The cars are considered by their fans to be the ultimate in contemporary automobile construction.

Resuscitations

After the Second World War , there were repeated efforts to revive the Duesenberg brand. Apart from numerous replica projects, there were at least three attempts to manufacture newly developed vehicles under the name Duesenberg. They all failed.

Projects by August Duesenberg

August Duesenberg made the first attempts to get back into automobile production in 1947. However, his attempts did not get beyond the stage of mere announcements. There was a lack of solid financing from the start, so that not even plans for a future vehicle could be developed.

Duesenberg Model D: Fred Duesenberg and Virgil Exner

Duesenberg Model D.

In 1964, Fred Duesenberg, the son of August Duesenberg, founded the Duesenberg Corporation in Indianapolis , Indiana with a number of American businessmen . This project was based on a sedan designed by Virgil Exner . Of all revival attempts by the Duesenberg brand, this one prospered the furthest by far, but failed again shortly before the start of series production due to financing. Nevertheless, because of its outstanding design, the car had a lasting influence on the design of future generations of American automobiles.

Duesenberg Model E: Harlan and Kenneth Duesenberg

A much less ambitious attempt to revive the Duesenberg brand was made by Harlan and Kenneth Duesenberg, great-nephews of August and Fred, in the late 1970s. They founded the New Duesenberg Brothers Company in Chicago in 1976 and hoped to manufacture and sell a luxury limousine under the familiar name.

In fact, their project was nothing more than a boutique car; H. a visually revised, expensively equipped mass-production vehicle. The technical basis came from Cadillac : the chassis and the body structure were taken from the Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special chassis of the 1976 generation, the engine was a 7.0 liter eight-cylinder from Cadillac.

The body was designed by Robert Peterson, a co-owner of the Chicago body shop Lehmann & Peterson, which specialized in the manufacture of sedans. His design was pointedly angular and had some elements that looked awkward. Aside from a right-angled grille, that was especially true of the curved front bumper, which some onlookers interpreted as swinging wings, while more malicious commentators compared it to a mustache. The twin headlights arranged one above the other, borrowed from the contemporary Dodge Monaco , looked comparatively cheap .

A prototype of the car was completed in 1979 and presented on various occasions. The Duesenberg brothers had an asking price of $ 100,000 per car - more than six times the price of a full-fledged Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. There was no serial production. The prototype still exists today.

Replicas

Duesenberg Corporation

In 1971, the Duesenberg Corporation of Bernard Miller in Gardena ( CA ) a replica of the "SSJ" Speedster of Gary Cooper before. The original was part of the important Briggs Cunningham collection at the time . The model, simply called Duesenberg '71 , was built on the chassis of a Dodge truck with a 3251 mm (128 inch) wheelbase; the original was 3175 mm (125 inches). A V8 from Chrysler with 6276 cm³ (383 ci) in the version as an industrial and boat engine was used. There was a Paxton compressor to increase performance . According to the factory, the engine is said to have produced 504 SAE-PS (375.8 kW), but the truth was probably closer to 300 SAE-PS (223.7 kW). There was a choice between a LoadFlite automatic transmission or a manual four-speed transmission. The body was made of sheet aluminum that was driven over an ash wood frame . The fenders were made of steel and the radiator grille was made of cast aluminum . The large headlights were turned from a brass block and chrome-plated. The '71 Duesenberg cost US $ 24,500; an edition of 100 copies was planned. How many were actually built is unknown.

Elite Heritage Motors Corporation

This company was founded in 1975 in Elroy ( Wisconsin founded). She presented her Duesenberg II Speedster in 1977 at the annual meeting of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Club in Auburn. The vehicle had a chassis of its own design with a wheelbase of 3899 mm (153½ inches), the overall length of the two-seater was an impressive 5740 mm (226 inches). The chassis was an in-house construction. The suspension of a Ford truck was used in the front. Lincoln contributed the drive train (V8 engine, automatic transmission and rear axle). The displacement was 5752 cm³ (351 ci). The vehicle received disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear . The body was made of GRP and was clearly modeled on the Weymann Speedster from 1933. The fenders were teardrop-shaped. The basic equipment included disc wheels (spoke wheels surcharge), non-functional exhaust hoses on the driver's side, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning , a dashboard with tap-ground , power windows, power six-seat adjustment, steering wheel adjustment, cruise control , FM / MW - radio with eight-track - tape recorder and leather interior. The price at launch is not known; however, it was US $ 101,000 in 1981. This year, the Royalton was followed by an open, four-door four-seater. This was based on the Derham Tourster , a Dual Cowl Phaeton from the factory catalog. He received long, curved fenders, which merged into running boards and contained a spare wheel on each side. The royalton cost US $ 125,000. A third variant finally followed in 1982 with the Torpedo Roadster . It connected the rear body of the Speedster to the fenders of the Royalton . Technically, all versions were identical, the engines corresponded to the technical standard of the Lincoln. Duesenberg II could be serviced in any Ford or Lincoln dealership. In 1984 the Torpedo Roadster was only built to order; one copy per month of the Royalton was made. While this was still being offered for the same price, the Speedster now cost US $ 120,000.

"Tribute To Twenty Grand"

A very special one-off piece was created on the basis of a Duesenberg II Royalton . It is a true-to-detail replica of the Duesenberg SJ Arlington Torpedo Sedan, created for the Chicago World's Fair in 1933 . This sedan, designed by Gordon Buehrig, had been body built at Rollston and got its name because of its price of a staggering US $ 20,000 at the time. The meticulous replica took ten years to complete. Mechanical changes concern a compressor for the engine, a manual five-speed gearbox instead of the automatic, which also meant that the gearbox tunnel could be eliminated. The body made of aluminum and GRP corresponds to the model down to the last detail (with synthetic leather cover instead of fabric). Modern amenities such as air conditioning and a stereo are available but hidden away, and the electric windows are operated via the window cranks.

various

The Duesenberg brand had an influence on the US colloquial language. With the statement “It's a doozy!” One thing was originally described as beautiful from the 19th century onwards, “doozy” was the slang form of “daisy” (daisy). After the appearance of the Duesenberg vehicles, however, a change in meaning took place. The sentence now marks an object as extravagant. Because of the phonetic similarity, the spelling "It's a duesy!"

A well-known collector of Duesenbergs is the US presenter Jay Leno . In addition to his considerable number of cars from different automobile eras, he also owns rare Duesenbergs from 1920 and 1930.

literature

  • Don Butler: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Crestline Publishing, Crestline Series , (Nov. 1992), ISBN 0-87938-701-7 . (engl.)
  • Jon M. Bill: Duesenberg Racecars & Passenger Cars Photo Archive. Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum (Ed.): Iconografix, Hudson WI, ISBN 1-58388-145-X (English).
  • Dennis Adler: Duesenberg. Heel-Verlag, Königswinter 2005, ISBN 3-89880-487-9 .
  • Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980. Beekman House, New York 1984, ISBN 0-517-42462-2 . (engl.)
  • Beverly Rae Kimes (ed.); Henry Austin Clark, Jr.: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 2nd Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI, USA 1985, ISBN 0-87341-111-0 . (engl.)
  • Brothers plan grand entrance for Duesie. In: Boca Raton News. February 11, 1979, p. 29. (Presentation of Harlan Duesenberg and his Duesenberg prototype)
  • Classic car market. Issue 1/2008 (December 2007)
  • George Nick Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. 2nd Edition. Dutton Press, New York 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0 . (English)
  • ACD Museum (Ed.): 19th Annual Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival; Official Souvenir Book. Brochure for the opening of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana (USA) on Labor Day Weekend 1974.
  • Auto catalog No. 24. (1980/81), Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart.
  • Auto catalog no.28 (1984/85), Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart.
  • Fritz B. Busch: The great Duesenberg won't come back - “From the dream!” In: Stern . No. 38 , September 18, 1966, ISSN  0039-1239 , pp. 112-120 .

Web links

Commons : Duesenberg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Kimes (1985), p. 475
  2. Kimes (1985), p. 895
  3. Source: FAS, April 8, 2007, p. V8
  4. Exhibition catalog "Roth-Händle rarities - The car show of the year (1979)"
  5. a b Butler (1992), p. 366
  6. Auto Catalog No. 24, p. 150
  7. Georgano (1973), p. 262
  8. Auto Catalog No. 28, p. 150
  9. hemmings.com: Duesenberg Twenty Grand Tribute