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The Final Duesenberg Show Car Is Undeniably Majestic

Founded in 1913 and shuttered in 1937, the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company embodied America’s take on the ultra-luxury automobile. Chassis 2611 is the final show car from this automaker, as well as the last complete car sold by Duesenberg while it was still a manufacturer. It’s currently up for grabs, and it won’t sell for pennies…
1936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 2611 23 photos
Photo: Mecum Auctions
1936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 26111936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline chassis number 2611
Featured at the 1936 New York Auto Show, this Model J Rollston Convertible Berline originally carried a sticker price of $17,000. Adjusted for inflation, that sum converts to $362,395 in today’s moolah. To whom it may concern, the most specification of the R-R Phantom is $100k more.

But as opposed to a Phantom, this bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful machine will be auctioned for millions. Gary Cooper’s 1935 Duesenberg SSJ (short wheelbase and supercharged Model J), which bears chassis number 2594 and engine number J-563, hammered for $22 million a few years ago. It still is the most expensive American car ever sold at auction. What’s even more surprising, it was estimated to fetch just $10 million.

Equipped with engine number J-586, chassis number 2611 was purchased brand-spanking new by Conkey Whitehead, then president of Coca-Cola. Later owned by a musician who cherished it for 46 years, the car ended up in the hands of Richard Dicker of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.

Comprehensively restored three decades ago, the Rollston-bodied convertible was displayed at the Petersen Museum as part of a six-month exhibit of Duesenbergs. Equipped with bullet headlights and taillights, the Duesy in the photo gallery features a monogrammed trunk bearing Whitehead’s initials.

Fitted with a glass partition that disappears into the back of the front seat, the Model J before your eyes is rocking a 420-ci lump of the straight-eight variety. The 6.9-liter behemoth features a DOHC valvetrain, cast iron for the block, cast iron for the head, and a 5.7:1 compression ratio, enough to make approximately 265 horsepower and plenty of torque.

Those were the early days of ultra-luxury cars, hence the three-speed manual rather than a torque-converter automatic as you’d expect from such a vehicle in this day and age. Mecum Auctions hasn’t offered an estimate, but we’ll find out how what’s what in a few short weeks. The Monterey 2022 auction will take place between August 18th and August 20th.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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