Duesenberg Model D.
| Duesenberg Corporation | |
|---|---|
Duesenberg Model D. |
|
| Model D | |
| Presentation year: | 1966 |
| Vehicle fair: | |
| Class : | Upper class |
| Body shape : | limousine |
| Engine: |
Otto engine : 7.2 liters |
| Length: | 6215 mm |
| Width: | 2040 mm |
| Height: | 1447 mm |
| Wheelbase: | 3492 mm |
| Empty weight: | 2850 kg |
| Production model: | none |
The Duesenberg Model D is an American concept vehicle from 1966, with which its initiators wanted to revive the Duesenberg brand , which was discontinued before the Second World War . The model designed by Virgil Exner was a so-called revival car that cited design elements from the pre-war era. Series production did not take place for financial reasons. Regardless of this, the Duesenberg D is regarded as the conceptual and stylistic forerunner of several other American luxury vehicles, including the Stutz Motor Car of America models .
background
Virgil Exner
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The initiator of the car was the designer Virgil Exner, who in the 1950s was Chrysler 's head of design and was responsible for trend-setting design concepts such as the Hundred Million Dollar Look from 1955 and the Forward Look from 1957.
At the end of the 1950s, Exner began to deal with classic design elements. His last Chrysler design, the 1961 generation from Imperial , was already shaped by these ideas with free-standing front headlights and suggested fenders. After his resignation from Chrysler, Exner deepened these thoughts and carried out studies on how modern vehicles and classic design elements can be combined. The result was a whole series of so-called revival cars , sketches with suggestions of what a Packard , a Pierce-Arrow or a Mercer would look like in the early 1960s . They were published in Esquire magazine. In 1964, Exner finally designed a large four-door sedan, which he imagined as the revival of a Duesenberg. It was his second draft on the subject of Duesenberg; Already in 1962 Exner had thought about a Phaeton with two windshields - a so-called Dual Cowl Phaeton - which, however, was not feasible.
Duesenberg Corporation
In 1964, Fred Duesenberg, the son of August Duesenberg, founded the Duesenberg Corporation with a number of American businessmen at the headquarters of the former Duesenberg plant in Indianapolis , Indiana . The largest investor was the Texan businessman Fred McManis, who acted as President of the Duesenberg Corporation from 1965, while Fred Duesenberg was the CEO. The investors also included Milo N. Record, Paul Farago and Brian A. Orr.
The Duesenberg Corporation adopted Exner's designs for a large Duesenberg limousine in 1965. She had a prototype made, which was announced several times in the course of 1965 and presented to the public in early 1966. The car and company were advertised in numerous full-page press advertisements, and series production was announced for 1966. A 1965 advertisement stated that the car was entirely handcrafted "with a precision unknown in America today." The car has wider seats and more head and knee room than any other American production sedan. Special equipment was "neither offered nor required: The Duesenberg has every conceivable equipment detail". The retail price was quoted at $ 19,500. This made it by far the most expensive American car of the 1966 model year: for this price, the customer could alternatively have received two Cadillac 75 sedans with a long wheelbase or three Imperial Le Baron hardtop sedans. Information on the planned scope of production was contradicting itself: Sometimes there was talk of 300, sometimes of up to 2000 copies per year.
After the prototype was presented, the first ten orders were received, including allegedly one each from Elvis Presley and Jerry Lewis . However, the project came to a standstill in 1966 before another copy was made. The company was poorly funded; It was expected that after the presentation of the prototype, further investors would be interested in the project, with whose help the amount of 2.5 million US $, which was necessary for the start of series production, should be raised. But it didn't come to that. The production of the prototype and the wide-ranging advertising used up the entire budget. The dealer who brokered the ten buyers was contractually entitled to $ 500 commission per car. The company was not able to raise this $ 5,000. A dealer then had the prototype seized and auctioned. Then the company filed for bankruptcy.
In autumn 2018, the prototype was first offered to the public for sale after many years in a museum. The seller asked for a price of $ 375,000.
The car
design
The Duesenberg Sedan was a contemporary limousine with numerous applications reminiscent of classic automobile design from the 1930s. This included a protruding radiator grille, curved trim strips in the area of the wheel arches, which were supposed to be reminiscent of free-standing fenders, as well as doors opening in opposite directions (so-called suicide doors ). On the other hand - as a contemporary style element - there were concealed headlights. The interior was spacious and equipped with elaborate materials.
technology
The technology of the Duesenberg Model D was undemanding. The car was based on a slightly elongated chassis from Chrysler's luxury brand Imperial , which also took over the drive technology and motorization.
prototype
In 1965, the Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin made a prototype. It was initially painted black. Later it appeared in violet with a black hard top, in some pictures it can finally be seen in dark red paint. The vehicle still exists. It was shown publicly at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in 2014.
The successor
The New York banker James O'Donnell took up the concept of the Duesenberg and especially Exner's design in 1968 when he founded the company Stutz Motor Car of America, which in turn was a revival of the traditional sports car brand Stutz . The company offered different cars from 1968 to 1987, many of which took up Exner's Duesenberg design again. Here, too, American high-volume technology was combined with classic design elements - critics speak of imitations; As in the case of the Duesenberg, the body was made entirely by hand in Italy. In contrast to the Duesenberg Corporation, the Stutz company was solidly financed and remained on the market for almost 20 years.
The influence of design
Although the Duesenberg Corporation's project ultimately failed, Exner's design was a role model for many American automobile designers, who transferred some of his ideas to American mass production in the following years. In addition to the Stutz models, which can be viewed as copies of the Duesenberg, this applies to the following vehicles:
- Hidden headlights first appeared in series in 1967 on the Cadillac Eldorado , in 1968 on the Lincoln Continental Mark III and from 1969 on some expensive Chrysler models of the Fuselage generation.
- The radiator grille protruding over the front was taken over in 1969 from the Pontiac Grand Prix (the car on which the Duesenberg successor Stutz Bearcat was based) and shortly afterwards became a stylistic feature of various Ford models under the name Knudsen-Nase .
- The roofline with the rear-hinged rear doors and the wide C-pillar including the curve over the rear wheels was hardly falsified in the fifth-generation sedans of the Ford Thunderbird , the so-called Glamor Birds.
literature
- Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980. New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Compilation of Virgil Exner's Revival Cars on the website www.madle.org (accessed on December 31, 2015).
- ↑ a b History of the Duesenberg Model D on the website http://auto.howstuffworks.com (accessed on December 31, 2015).
- ↑ a b "Fact Sheet" of the Duesenberg Corporation; reproduced on the website www.madle.org ( memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on December 31, 2015).
- ^ "Fact Sheet" of the Duesenberg Corporation; reproduced on the website www.madle.org ( memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on December 31, 2015).
- ↑ a b The Duesenberg Model D on the website www.madle.org (accessed on December 31, 2015).
- ↑ Advertisement on the website www.hemmings.com (accessed on November 19, 2018).
- ↑ The Duesenberg Model D on the website www.conceptcarz.com (accessed on December 31, 2015).
- ↑ Announcement of the exhibition on the website www.hemmings.com from December 19, 2013 (accessed on May 27, 2017).
- ↑ Description of the vehicle with images from the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance 2014 (accessed on May 27, 2017).
