page_title: Fred Duesenberg
section_title: 1920s luxury-car designer
hierarchical_section_title: Fred Duesenberg / Career / 1920s luxury-car designer
caption_attribution_description: At the turn of the last century, Iowa bicycle makers August and Fred Duesenberg tinkered with gasoline engines and by 1913 Duesenberg Automobile Motors was manufacturing cars. E.L.Cord, who also owned Auburn bought Duesenberg in 1926. The Model J Duesenberg was a luxury car built from 1928-37. More famous people bought the Model J than that of any other American car. With the Tourster, Gordon Buehrig designed a better system for the second windscreen to fold out of the way, rather than hinged, like other phaetons, it slid up and down behind the front seat Toursters were built exclusively by the Derham Body Company in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, only 8 were produced. Engine; 265hp 420 cu in straight 8 OHC. Photographed at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
context_page_description: Frederick Samuel Duesenberg was a German-born American automobile and engine designer, manufacturer and sportsman who was internationally known as a designer of racecars and racing engines. Duesenberg's engineering expertise influenced the development of the automobile, especially during the 1910s and 1920s. He is credited with introducing an eight-cylinder engine, also known as the Duesenberg Straight-8 engine, and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a first for American cars, in addition to other mechanical innovations. Duesenberg was also patentholder of his designs for a four-wheel hydraulic brake, an early automatic transmission, and a cooling system, among others. Fred and his younger brother, August "Augie" Duesenberg, shared the patents, filed in 1913 and renewed in 1918, for their "walking beam" four-cylinder engine and the Duesenberg Straight 8.
context_section_description: While continuing to develop racing engines, the Duesenberg brothers and their financial backers, Newton E. Van Zandt and Luther M. Rankin, established the Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company in March 1920 with its headquarters in Indianapolis. Fred was the chief engineer and later in the 1920s served as president of the company; his brother, Augie, was assistant engineer. Beginning in May 1921 the Duesenberg company manufactured passenger cars with advanced racing-car features at its new factory in Indianapolis at the corner of Washington and Harding Streets. The facility was also close to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was used as a test track.
  The first passenger car to bear the Duesenberg family surname was introduced in New York in late 1920. The new car featured an "inline eight-cylinder overhead cam engine and four-wheel hydraulic brakes," a first for American cars. The Duesenberg Model A, their company's first mass-produced vehicle, was manufactured between 1921 and 1927. The Model A proved to be unpopular with car buyers because of its high cost (US$8,500 for the chassis alone) and unstylish exterior. As a result, the company struggled financially.
  A minor shareholder unsuccessfully attempted to put the company into receivership in 1923 and slow sales led the company into receivership in 1924, but it emerged in 1925. A year later the company's leadership was discussing a merger with Du Pont Motors, once again indicating possible financial concerns. E. L. Cord, president of the Auburn Automobile Company, admired the Duesenberg Model A and proposed a financial rescue to acquire the Duesenberg company. Cord wanted to manufacture a faster and more prestigious "supercar" to round out the offerings of his other automotive brands, the Auburn and Cord. E. L. Cord's acquisition of the Duesenberg company in 1926 also included Fred, who was tasked with designing faster and more powerful luxury cars than the Duesenberg competitors. From 1926 until his death in 1932, Fred focused on designs for passenger cars, which included the X, S, and J models, and served as vice president of engineering at Duesenberg, a subsidiary of the Cord Corporation. While Fred concentrated on passenger-car designs for E. L. Cord, his brother, Augie, ran the Duesenberg Brothers racing business.
  In October 1926, E. L. Cord told the Indianapolis Star, "The purchase of the Duesenberg factory is the culmination of my plans to be able to offer the world an automobile of undisputed rank. In fact, the finest thing on four wheels. Duesenberg cars will be strictly custom built, the owners selecting their own body styles, their own body makers and selecting their own colors. The price probably will be $18,000, no matter what model, from racer to limousine. We will give the buyer 120 mile-an-hour [190 km/h] speed if desired. Naturally, the production of this type of automobile, which carries a warranty of fifteen years, will be limited and we are now taking orders...." Early in 1927 the test board of the American Automobile Association presented to Fred Duesenberg with a bronze tablet in recognition of the leading part he had played in the development of several fundamental improvements in automotive engineering.
  The Duesenberg Model J, announced in late 1928, was the new luxury car that E. L. Cord wanted. Production began in the spring of 1929. Cord insisted that the Model J be bigger (and heavier) than Fred would have liked, but Duesenberg engineered the car's design. With prices for a completed car beginning at US$13,500, and later increased to US$18,000 or more, buyers received a luxury car with a 32-valve, dual overhead camshaft engine that was capable of generating 265 horsepower and could reach a maximum speed of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h).
  In June 1931, during a Society of Automotive Engineers  meeting in West Virginia, Duesenberg "predicted that speeds of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) on the highways would soon be common." As of May 2019, speed limits for passenger cars on U.S. interstate highways remain under 100 mph (160 km/h), ranging
caption: Duesenberg Model J Derham Tourster
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