Duesenberg was one of two great names in racing during the twenties, the other was Miller. In 1921, Jimmy Murphy became the first American to win the French Grand Prix when he drove a Duesenberg to victory at the Le Mans racetrack. A Duesenberg won the Indianapolis 500 in 1924, 1925, and 1927.
The company was acquired by the Cord Corporation in 1926. Cord instructed Fred Duesenberg to build a super car that would surpass the worlds most magnificent automobiles. The result was the Model J. The 4 valve per cylinder double overhead cam engine Fred designed was race inspired. About 470 Model J’s were built, 32 were the Model SJ which had a mechanical supercharger. The SJ can go over 100 mph in 2nd gear, and 125-130 mph in 3rd gear. Customers paid $8,500 for an engine and a chassis. Each car was then custom bodied and could cost up to $20,000. Often customers would order a summer body and a winter body.
This car is the prototype supercharged Model SJ used by Fred Duesenberg as his personal test car. Fred died from complications from an accident in this car. It is 1 of 8 with the Indy racing manifold on the side and it is the first known LaGrande Dual-Cowl Phaeton body to have been built. It has both a tachometer and an altimeter.
