Miguel Sánchez
Nowadays, you hear more and more that of "All new cars look the same". Because it is a generalization, it is not entirely true, but it is not without truth either. The automobile has become one of the great mass-production objects of our era, and that has virtues… but also drawbacks.
However, decades ago this was not the case. The most of the big brands only produced the chassis and mechanics, leaving the choice of the customer who would dress the car. In this context, many body design and assembly companies flourished both in America and Europe. Obviously plurality encouraged creativity and thus a multitude of unique models emerged.
So ... today we have another Hispano-Suiza single body? Let's go with him 1931 Cadillac Pininfarina used to hunt tigers by a maharajah? No. None of that. Today we will talk about a spectacular Duesenberg J without a carriage, just as you could buy it in the factory. Another one of Jay Leno's garage vehicles. That man who collects as many cars as few shirts. He almost always shows up with that cowgirl!
DUESENBERG J IN VIDEO, THE BEST OF THE TIME
A bodywork interferes with objective factors such as aerodynamics, and subjective factors such as beauty. However, we can never lose sight of the fact that the fundamental thing in a car is the chassis and the engine. Even Enzo Ferrari said that about "When I sell a car I charge the engine, the rest I give it to him"… And go, if we talk about one of the peaks of technology during the 20s and 30s we have to name the Duesenberg J.
Its chassis was the best, on which a 7-liter, 8-cylinder, 32-valve engine capable of producing more than 260CV -320 in the Supercharged option-. To give you an idea, the chassis alone cost the same as 35 Ford utility vehicles at the time: about $ 9.000. With the engine and the rest of the mechanics - it was the first American car with hydraulic disc brakes - it rose to about 13.000-19.000 with the body apart.
The figures are heart-stopping, but we are talking about one of the most innovative and fascinating cars in history. He is also a survivor: was devised during the Happy 20sBut the Duesenberg J survived the subsequent Great Depression as a cult car for Hollywood. The crack cut short its production but survived.
Many of the tycoons he was targeting had been ruined or thrown from his office window, but actors like Clark Gable or Gary Cooper they lived on the crest of the wave interpreting celluloid dreams for a country wrapped in economic nightmares. Thanks to this cheerful clientele, the Duenseberg J was in production from 1928 to 1937.
ONE UNIT WITH GUTS IN THE AIR
Jay Leno bought this 1931 Duesenberg J without a coachwork. And so it stayed, with the chassis and its engine in sight. Obviously you can take this as an eccentricity, but in reality we see it as aa show of respect towards the car. At the end of the day ... This is much better than giving it a contemporary body trying to recreate what it could have been during the 30s.
In addition, this state reveals the magnificent automobile. An ingenuity in perfect state of conservation capable of happily moving a car free of the heavy bodies that usually dress the Duesenbergs J. In short, the perfect reminder of a time when bodybuilders lived better times or, at least, organized as an industry Independent.
