Glenister 1936
1939 Duesenberg Coupe Simone right
In 1913, brothers Fred and August Duesenberg founded Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. on 915 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa to build sports cars. Born in 1876 and 1879 respectively in Kirchheide (Lemgo), Germany, the two brothers were self-taught engineers and built many experimental cars. Duesenberg cars were considered some of the very best cars of the time, and were built entirely by hand.
The road cars were not an immediate success. The Duesenberg brothers were great designers and engineers, but their business and marketing talents were limited. Poor sales results pushed Duesenberg on the verge of bankruptcy. E.L. Cord stepped in and bought the company in 1926. Cord decided to abandon the nimble Model A and requested Fred Duesenberg to design a large, luxurious and powerful chassis to be bodied by various coach-builders.
E.L. Cord, the owner of Cord Automobile, Auburn Automobile, and other transportation firms, bought the company on the 26th October 1926 for the brothers' engineering skills, talent and the brand name in order to produce luxury cars. He challenged Fred Duesenberg to design an automobile that should be the best in the world. Indeed, Cord wanted the biggest, fastest and most expensive car ever made, he also ordered a large chassis to be able to compete with the biggest, powerful and most luxurious European cars of the era, such as Hispano-Suiza, Isotta-Fraschini, Mercedes-Benz or Rolls-Royce. It took Fred 27 months to bring the Model J to fruition.
It's the engine that really made the Model J stand out from its competition. With 32 valves, double overhead camshafts and a detachable head the eight cylinder engine was the most advanced engine ever designed in the United States. Displacing just under 6.9 litres, the engine produced an earthmoving 265 bhp, more than could be tested on any contemporary dynometer. Although the engine was designed by Fred Duesenberg, it was constructed by specialised engine-builder Lycoming, which was also recently acquired by E.L. Cord.
Duesenberg ceased production in 1937 after Cord's financial empire collapsed, however between 1937 and 1940 three automobiles put the final touch to this historical marque: the first one was commissioned by the French cosmetics tycoon Gui de LaRouche to Emmett-Armand Coachworks of America as a gift to his lover Simone, it took three years to complete both the tailor-made interior and futuristic body finished in 1939, this disappeared masterpiece was named as "Duesenberg Coupé Simone. It is both the longest Duesenberg and the last one delivered; and finally the last one ever made, which was assembled from leftover parts between 1938-1940.
The story begins in France but in so many ways it is an American story…..e story of two immigrants….. a story filled with the excitement, the creativity and energy if the early automotive age…..and a story of our time, of chance happenings and dogged research
The year was 1936, and the French cosmetics king Gui De LaRouche had attended the world premier of the film The Clearing Cloud. Watching the film, he was particularly impressed by an automobile driven by the leading man. After making several inquiries, he learned that the automobile’s gorgeous body was the creation of Emmett-Armand Coachworks of Green Brier, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Gui De LaRouche had always believed that a man must succumb to his passions. So he commissioned Emmett-Armand to create an exotic-bodied Coupé on a Duesenberg chassis. The new automobile would be a gift to his lover, a beauty called Simone.
Emmett-Armand took three years in the making the automobile – with the supervision of LaRouche’s assistant, Antoine St Clair. When the masterpiece was complete, plans were made to unveil the extraordinary vehicle at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. But before they did, they intended to deliver it first to Paris for LaRouche’s personal approval.
Yet 1939 was a year fraught with danger, and war clouds gathering ominously over Europe. When Emmett arrived in Paris with the car, he found a bitter love-triangle among LaRouche, Simone and St Claire becoming quite sinister. LaRouche had forged papers naming St Claire as a traitor; he had threatened Simone with the same; and he had evicted Emmett from his estate, taking possession of the car with no intention of paying for it. Later, Emmett and St Claire would join forces to steal back the car and rescue Simone. The plan was to hide the car until it could be safely returned to the United States.
Back in America, Armand received a terse telegram from his partner stating that Emmett was seeking safe storage for the Coupé Simone and that his return would be delayed. But there the story seemed to end, for both Emmett and the car were lost as they left Paris. Armand rushed to Europe to look for his friend and partner, but he too disappeared. Yet the two men’s creation – the elegant Coupé Simone – would re-appear only nearly sixty years later, in a remarkable twist of fate.
In the 1990’s Roger Hardnock and Raffi Minasian, distant relatives of Emmett and Armand, chance to meet. Not surprisingly, both share a passion for classic automobiles. Acting on a tip, they travelled to a remote area in central Pennsylvania – to a place called Green Brier. There, in a dilapidated barn, they discovered the original plans for the lost masterpiece. Determined to bring their ancestors’ vision to light, they created a scale model of the Duesenberg Coupé Simone – a model that would capture the splendor of the original.
They were immediately sold to the House Franklin Mint, hence the model.
1939 Duesenberg Coupe Simone right
In 1913, brothers Fred and August Duesenberg founded Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. on 915 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa to build sports cars. Born in 1876 and 1879 respectively in Kirchheide (Lemgo), Germany, the two brothers were self-taught engineers and built many experimental cars. Duesenberg cars were considered some of the very best cars of the time, and were built entirely by hand.
The road cars were not an immediate success. The Duesenberg brothers were great designers and engineers, but their business and marketing talents were limited. Poor sales results pushed Duesenberg on the verge of bankruptcy. E.L. Cord stepped in and bought the company in 1926. Cord decided to abandon the nimble Model A and requested Fred Duesenberg to design a large, luxurious and powerful chassis to be bodied by various coach-builders.
E.L. Cord, the owner of Cord Automobile, Auburn Automobile, and other transportation firms, bought the company on the 26th October 1926 for the brothers' engineering skills, talent and the brand name in order to produce luxury cars. He challenged Fred Duesenberg to design an automobile that should be the best in the world. Indeed, Cord wanted the biggest, fastest and most expensive car ever made, he also ordered a large chassis to be able to compete with the biggest, powerful and most luxurious European cars of the era, such as Hispano-Suiza, Isotta-Fraschini, Mercedes-Benz or Rolls-Royce. It took Fred 27 months to bring the Model J to fruition.
It's the engine that really made the Model J stand out from its competition. With 32 valves, double overhead camshafts and a detachable head the eight cylinder engine was the most advanced engine ever designed in the United States. Displacing just under 6.9 litres, the engine produced an earthmoving 265 bhp, more than could be tested on any contemporary dynometer. Although the engine was designed by Fred Duesenberg, it was constructed by specialised engine-builder Lycoming, which was also recently acquired by E.L. Cord.
Duesenberg ceased production in 1937 after Cord's financial empire collapsed, however between 1937 and 1940 three automobiles put the final touch to this historical marque: the first one was commissioned by the French cosmetics tycoon Gui de LaRouche to Emmett-Armand Coachworks of America as a gift to his lover Simone, it took three years to complete both the tailor-made interior and futuristic body finished in 1939, this disappeared masterpiece was named as "Duesenberg Coupé Simone. It is both the longest Duesenberg and the last one delivered; and finally the last one ever made, which was assembled from leftover parts between 1938-1940.
The story begins in France but in so many ways it is an American story…..e story of two immigrants….. a story filled with the excitement, the creativity and energy if the early automotive age…..and a story of our time, of chance happenings and dogged research
The year was 1936, and the French cosmetics king Gui De LaRouche had attended the world premier of the film The Clearing Cloud. Watching the film, he was particularly impressed by an automobile driven by the leading man. After making several inquiries, he learned that the automobile’s gorgeous body was the creation of Emmett-Armand Coachworks of Green Brier, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Gui De LaRouche had always believed that a man must succumb to his passions. So he commissioned Emmett-Armand to create an exotic-bodied Coupé on a Duesenberg chassis. The new automobile would be a gift to his lover, a beauty called Simone.
Emmett-Armand took three years in the making the automobile – with the supervision of LaRouche’s assistant, Antoine St Clair. When the masterpiece was complete, plans were made to unveil the extraordinary vehicle at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. But before they did, they intended to deliver it first to Paris for LaRouche’s personal approval.
Yet 1939 was a year fraught with danger, and war clouds gathering ominously over Europe. When Emmett arrived in Paris with the car, he found a bitter love-triangle among LaRouche, Simone and St Claire becoming quite sinister. LaRouche had forged papers naming St Claire as a traitor; he had threatened Simone with the same; and he had evicted Emmett from his estate, taking possession of the car with no intention of paying for it. Later, Emmett and St Claire would join forces to steal back the car and rescue Simone. The plan was to hide the car until it could be safely returned to the United States.
Back in America, Armand received a terse telegram from his partner stating that Emmett was seeking safe storage for the Coupé Simone and that his return would be delayed. But there the story seemed to end, for both Emmett and the car were lost as they left Paris. Armand rushed to Europe to look for his friend and partner, but he too disappeared. Yet the two men’s creation – the elegant Coupé Simone – would re-appear only nearly sixty years later, in a remarkable twist of fate.
In the 1990’s Roger Hardnock and Raffi Minasian, distant relatives of Emmett and Armand, chance to meet. Not surprisingly, both share a passion for classic automobiles. Acting on a tip, they travelled to a remote area in central Pennsylvania – to a place called Green Brier. There, in a dilapidated barn, they discovered the original plans for the lost masterpiece. Determined to bring their ancestors’ vision to light, they created a scale model of the Duesenberg Coupé Simone – a model that would capture the splendor of the original.
They were immediately sold to the House Franklin Mint, hence the model.