The legacy of the Duesenberg brand may have been brief in the grand timeline of the automotive industry, but its impact remains profound, reflected in the staggering prices its cars command today.
At a recent RM Sotheby’s auction in Miami, a 1930 Duesenberg Model J, featuring coachwork by Murphy, fetched an impressive sum of nearly $4 million, selling for a final price of $3,855,000.
This particular Duesenberg, bearing chassis number 2369, was originally commissioned in 1929 by Esther Fiske Hammond, the granddaughter of the head of the department store chain Jordan Marsh.
Duesenberg supplied its cars as rolling chassis, and Hammond enlisted the expertise of the Walter M. Murphy Company, based in Pasadena, California, to craft a body.
The result was one of Murphy’s iconic convertible coupes with a retractable roof, known as a disappearing top. Among the limited number of Duesenbergs featuring this unique body style, only two remain with their original rear-mounted spares, this car being one of them.
While the car no longer retains its original engine, boasting an inline-8 engine delivering approximately 265 horsepower in Model J specification, its historical significance remains undiminished. Over the years, the car changed hands multiple times, with radio host Charles Allen replacing its engine during the 1950s.
The original rear-mounted spares were lost at some point. Fortunately, renowned Duesenberg restorer Randy Ema, from Orange, California, came across the original dual rear-mount spare hub at a swap meet, safeguarding it for nearly three decades until its reunion with the car in 2017.
Paul Petrovich of Sacramento, California, entrusted the car to Ema for a comprehensive restoration, marking Ema’s final restoration project before retirement.
The recent RM Sotheby’s auction also featured other notable vehicles, including a 1990 Ferrari F40, which fetched almost $3.4 million, a 1930 Cadillac V-16 sold for just over $1 million, and a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, which realized $2.2 million.