Vehicle Description
E.L. Cord had worked wonders at Auburn in his relatively short
tenure at the head of the company. When he arrived in 1924, Auburn
cars were staid, dull and unappealing. With a stroke of genius,
Cord revitalized the brand simply by repainting unsold stock in
bright colors and launching a vigorous advertising campaign. As
reward for saving the company, he was offered a seat at the
director's table, but instead he bought the whole company and put
himself in charge. Within a few short years, the marque's image was
transformed, with sports stars, business moguls and Hollywood
actors seen in stylish Auburn automobiles. E.L. Cord had carefully
positioned the brand within his fast growing automobile empire by
offering stylish performance cars at a much lower price point than
Duesenberg. For 1931, sales had continued to rebound despite
economic conditions, and Auburn introduced fresh new styling that
was inspired by the designed Alex Leamy's Cord L29. As a further
boost to Auburn, a new Speedster was unveiled in 1931. The car
featured a sleek look with its split radiators shell, split and
heavily raked windscreen and signature tapered boat-tail. All
along, E.L. Cord was losing interest in building cars and looking
to invest heavily in the field of Aviation. Sales began to slump
and Auburn looked for a way to revive the brand yet again. Gordon
Buehrig was brought in to redesign standard Auburns and charged
with creating a new Speedster, inspired by a Duesenberg J he
designed that was built by Weymann. The caveat being he had to
utilize leftover '33 bodies from Union City Body to save money. The
new car utilized very little of the old bodies, mainly the
mid-section of the cabin and top frame. The fenders, tail, and most
of the cowl were all new and in the end, Buehrig felt that this new
car was even better balanced and prettier than the Duesenberg that
inspired it. In the days when Bugattis crossed France and 4
1/2-Litre Bentleys tore through the British countryside, the
American equivalent was the Auburn speedster. Indiana's Auburn
Automobile Company revealed its first version of this dashing body
style, inspired by a Duesenberg show car, for the 1928 model year
and would offer variations on the theme through to the end of
production in 1936. Underneath, the speedster shared the same
exciting mechanicals as other supercharged Auburn models. Its power
was sent to a Columbia dual-ratio rear axle, standard equipment on
the supercharged models, which provided two ratios for each gear,
one low and one high. The ratios could be changed as often as
desired while at very low speeds or at a stop by moving the switch
in the center of the steering wheel. This provided the supercharged
Auburn with much greater flexibility, making it a true "driver's
car," ideal for both purring through crowded cities and roaring
down country lanes. Unusual as it may seem, not all of the
glamorous speedsters were supercharged from the factory. Auburn
factory records indicate that a single un-supercharged speedster
was built, in the highest-tier naturally aspirated Custom trim with
the two-speed Dual Ratio rear axle. This car was actually completed
not in Connersville, like most 1935-1936 Auburns, but in the
original Auburn production facility in its hometown of Auburn,
Indiana. Purportedly its unusual specification is explained by its
having been completed for show and exhibition purposes before the
Auburn superchargers were ready, something supported by its
relatively early serial number without the "3" prefix seen on
supercharged examples. Further, both the serial and engine number
tags remain original, as is the engine stamping on the block. The
un-supercharged speedster was formerly owned by Mark Vantatenbow of
Michigan, in whose ownership it was included in the roster of
surviving 851/852 speedsters, published in the Auburn Cord
Duesenberg Club Newsletter in 1996. The car then moved south to
Texas, where it was part of three prominent collections, the most
recent of which embarked on a complete body on frame restoration
shortly after his purchase in 2019. The body was finished in an
authentic but seldom-seen 1935 Auburn color, Duck Egg Blue. The
body is straight, showing a quality restoration, and the doors
exhibit very good shutlines. Like the exterior, the interior
presents beautifully. The mottled red leather upholstery and red
carpets complement the blue paint brilliantly. Likewise, the grey
canvas top is a well-judged touch that brings the paint and
interior together quite well. The interior design eschews
traditional wood trim for a modern, streamlined approach. The dash
in particular is fabulous; with deco-style instruments arranged in
damascene-pattern instrument panel, topped with a chrome header.
Underhood the big Lycoming Eight is very well detailed, and
finished in correct green and topped with a silver-painted cylinder
head. The engine is mated to a proper 3 speed manual gearbox which
sends power through the optional Dual Ratio rear axle, essentially
giving the car an overdrive and allowing for surprising top-end
performance. Now in beautiful overall condition and fine running
order, this is a unique example of the great Auburn Speedster, one
of the most significant American automobiles of the Classic Era.
Offers welcome and trades considered For additional details please
view this listing directly on our website
https://hymanltd.com/vehicles/7707-1935-auburn-851-custom-speedster/
