1929 Duesenberg Model J Derham

1929 Duesenberg Model J Derham, click picture to enlarge.

This car was a legend in its time. I don't remember ever seeing one of these cars but that was probably because the people in my area did not have the money that it took to buy thses cars. In my research for this car I found a statement that said this car had a base price of around twelve thousand dollars and could go up to twenty five thousand dollars with a custom made coach and other options. The thing about that statement that struck my attention was that this was at a time when the average doctor only earned about three thousand dollars a year. The Duesenberg was featured in some of the ritzy movies of that time. Captain Eddie Rickenbacher, a famous WWI ace fighter pilot that was downed in the Pacific during the war, drove a Duesenber in the Indianapolis 500 race once. The Duesenberg also won the Le Mans Open race in Europe three or four times.

In February 1928 the Model J designation was born.
The newly revived Duesenberg company set about to produce the Model J, which debuted in December at the New York Car Show of 1928. In unsupercharged form, it produced a whopping 265 horsepower (198 kW) from a dual overhead camshaft straight 8 and was capable of a top speed of 119 mph (192 km/h), and 94 mph (151 km/h) in 2nd gear. Other cars featured a bigger engine but none of them surpassed its power which was three times bigger and was also both the fastest and most expensive automobile in the market. All these unique features, glamour and style found an inspiration in the expression; "It's a Duesy".

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