1930 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Phaeton

The Duesenberg Model J is a luxury automobile made by Duesenberg. Intended to compete with the most luxurious and powerful cars in the world, it was introduced in 1928, the year before the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression. The Model J, available with a supercharger after 1932, was sold until Duesenberg Motors Company went bankrupt in 1937.

Few names in motoring are as redolent of wealth and power as ‘Duesenberg.’ The company’s advertising for its Model J said it all—soft charcoal drawings of a man in evening dress, seated in front of the fire in a great hall with a minstrels’ gallery dominated by a huge pipe organ, or the silver-haired skipper of an America’s Cup-type yacht, above a single line of script: “He drives a Duesenberg.”

The Duesenberg’s race-bred engine was certainly out of the ordinary—a purpose-built 32-valve Lycoming 6876cc straight-eight said to develop 265bhp. There might have been a touch of exaggeration in the claim, but the actual output was certainly more than double the output of the previous claimant to the title of ‘America’s most powerful car,’ the 112bhp Chrysler Imperial 80.

Bearing engine number J-255 and serial number 2276, this 1930 Duesenberg Model J was originally fashioned with Judkins Company limousine coachwork and delivered new to William Sandow. Duesenberg owner and historian Randy Ema has confirmed that by 1935 the car was used by E.L. Cord’s wife before it was purchased in 1937 by John W. de Noira, whose Pacific Auto Rental in Hollywood had become a major source of rental cars for the booming movie industry. As a result, this Model J is perhaps the most filmed of any Duesenberg, having appeared in at least 14 Hollywood productions, including The Great McGinty (1940), Pocketful of Miracles (1951), Al Capone (1955), Party Girl (1958), Howard Hughes (1977), The Gangster Chronicles (1981) and City Heat (1984).

Duesenberg’s La Grande bodies have stood the test of time, their classic elegance and tasteful embellishment distinguishing them among the most coveted coachwork on these great chassis. In an era of great designers and coachbuilders, this is an exceptional recognition.