Origins

• Augie and Fred Duesenberg, creators of the famed ultra-luxury cars.
  
  Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company was founded in 1913 by the Duesenberg brothers in Des Moines, Iowa, before moving to Auburn.
  
  

Racing History

• Driver Bill Spence was killed when he flipped his Duesenberg Special at the 1929 Indy 500.
  
  Aviator Eddie Rickenbacker raced a Duesenberg to a 10th-place finish in 1914 at the Indianapolis 500, with the car driven by other drivers capturing first in 1924, 1925 and 1927.
  
  

Model A

• The 1926 Model A was too expensive to build and helped lead the brothers to financial ruin.
  
  From 1921-27, 667 Model As were produced featuring a straight-8 engine with dual overhead camshafts and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, which were revolutionary for its day.
  
  

Financial Trouble

• The 1935 supercharged Duesenberg J roadster.
  
  The Duesenberg was so expensive to make and sell that the brothers could not keep their fledgling company afloat and sold it in 1926 to E.L. Cord, who kept Fred and August aboard as engineers.
  
  

"J" Model

• Interior of a 1936 Duesenberg Landaulet with coachwork by Rollston.
  
  Under Cord, the legendary J model was produced from 1929-37 with Fred Duesenberg performing the lion's share of the design work.
  
  

Supercharged

• Straight 8-cylinder engine of the 1936 Duesenberg J.
  
  The straight-8 supercharged Duesenberg generated 265 horsepower and could hit 119 mph, making it the most powerful car of the 1920s and '30s.