By the early 1920s, The United States had overtaken Europe as the largest producer of automobiles in the world. But unlike Henry Ford, who had pioneered mass production, the motoring magnate E L Cord put the onus on quality, not quantity. It was his dream to create an American car that would put the great European marques of Hispano-Suiza, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce in the shade and be acclaimed as the best car in the world. It is ironic, then, that this almost patriotic duty was entrusted not to his own company, Auburn, but to two German-born brothers named Duesenberg. It was a case of if you can't beat them, borrow them.
The Duesenberg brothers, Fred and August, had moved to Iowa when they were children and, by 1913, had established their own company under the family name, quickly gaining a reputation for engineering excellence. After the First World War, the pedigree of the brand was established as Duesenbergs won the French Grand Prix at Le Mans and three victories at Indianapolis.
Their first passenger car, the Model A, was a technological marvel, featuring a straight-eight engine inspired by Bugatti and was the first American car to feature four valves per cylinder and hydraulic brakes. But the brothers' engineering brilliance was not matched by business acumen. While they were in pole position on the racetrack, they struggled to compete on the road. Despite celebrity endorsements from glamorous stars such as Rudolph Valentino, their target of producing 100 cars a month was hopelessly optimistic and, after six years, only 650 were made.
But Cord had not become one of his country's most successful industrialists by chance; he saw the brilliance behind the balance sheets and acquired the company in 1926. He challenged the brothers to make the fastest, most powerful, most expensive car in the world. It took them more than two years to meet this design brief and the result was unveiled at the 1928 New York motor show. It was, Cord observed, well worth the wait. The "J" featured a four-metre chassis incorporating one of the most advanced engines ever designed, producing 320hp in supercharged "JS" form, despite having much smaller capacity than all of its competitors. At a time when 100mph (160kph) was still considered extraordinarily fast, it powered to a breathtaking 140mph. Despite weighing almost three tonnes and being hampered by a clunky non-synchromesh gearbox, it could reach 60mph in an improbable eight seconds.
Of course, anyone buying what claimed to be the best car in the world would expect to pay a premium: the final bill for a Duesenberg J was around US$25,000. That was approximately 10 times the annual salary of an average New Yorker at the time. But despite the outlandish price tag, the car was a success, with celebrities such as Clark Gable and Al Capone among the first to take the wheel. Indeed, the brand soon became a byword for elegance and quality, so much so that the advertising didn't feature any specifications or pictures of the car at all, just a screen siren declaring "I drive a Duesy". Cord must have taken particular pride when European playboy prince the Duke of Windsor placed an order.
But the unchecked capitalism and conspicuous consumption of the Roaring Twenties was fated to come to a spectacular crash. Duesenberg had only delivered 200 cars before Wall Street came tumbling down to leave the US and the world staring into the abyss of a great depression. Hollywood became the only market, where the stars of the silver screen were perhaps the few people left on Earth who could afford such luxury. As the Thirties progressed, the economy stuttered into recovery but the world was a different place and the value of money would never again be treated so lightly.
Cord, astute as ever and sensing that great wealth could be found elsewhere, pulled out of the motor industry in 1937, laying the Duesenberg brand to rest. In total, less than 500 J types were made. Remarkably, more than half are still being displayed or driven today. It is not surprising perhaps, given their pedigree and rarity, that they are one of the most collectable classic cars in the world and that their price at purchase is a mere fraction of what they command today. A model owned by none other than Hollywood actress Greta Garbo sold for US$1.4 million (Dh5.1m) in 2008.
