Filed under: Auction Action
2007 RM Auction, Scottsdale: The last Duesenberg sold at $2.55 MIL
1937/40 Duesenberg Model SJ Cabriolet – Lot 249
How much would you be willing to pay for the last Duesenberg SJ ever built? Or perhaps we should ask, how much do you think somebody in the market for a Duesenberg would be willing to pay? Before you answer, consider that this particular 1937 Duesie has had but three owners who have managed to accumulate just 10,000 miles since new. The car is in outstanding condition and remarkably, it is unrestored, it even rides on the original tires.
It's known as the Rudolf Bauer car, named after the original owner who also happened to be an eccentric abstract artist. The story of SJ-397 is quite fascinating and we encourage you to read the full account over at the RM auction website. For now we'll let the pictures do the talking, and just add that one happy couple is now $2.55 mil (before auction fees) lighter in the pocketbook, but will forever have a place in automotive history as custodian number 4 for this incredible car.
[Source: RM Auctions]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nist 2:21PM (1/20/2007)
Congratulations to Jay and Mavis Leno!
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ron 3:06PM (1/20/2007)
Ya think Ralph Nadar would approve of that hood ornament?
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BOB 3:16PM (1/20/2007)
If it was Jay who bought it -- Hey, Jay, when are you gonna show it in LA? Should I haunt the gate at NBC to see which day you drive it to work?
COMPLETELY MAGNIFICENT AUTOMOBILE!!!
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Frank Filipponio 4:04PM (1/20/2007)
Sure didn't look like Jay.
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smooth sailin 4:12PM (1/20/2007)
That's a duesey!
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Edsel 5:13PM (1/20/2007)
Imagine Detroit doing a modern retro-Dusenberg!
(without the hood impaler)
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dave 5:35PM (1/20/2007)
edsel, there are a few companies that do repro duesies. not cheap by any means. i was at the auburn cord duesenburg museum in auburn in. a couple years ago and on display was an attempt at one of the duesie family's comeback cars. i think it was a late sixties or seventies. gorgious car, but alas, it never made it to production. it's worth? priceless.
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chuck goolsbee 6:29PM (1/20/2007)
Wow! What a gorgeous machine!
Gotta give props to RM for the presentation as well. Alone on the stage and spun on a turntable. Not the crowded three-ring circus on the Speed Channel.
--chuck
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BOB 8:16PM (1/20/2007)
#8 -- agree the presentation was great -- except for a black car. No contrast, it does not pop.
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Monty 12:04AM (1/21/2007)
Just saw Leno in Burbank at a bookstore driving a 1912 Packard buying a bunch of magazines. Crazy.
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Eric 3:08AM (1/21/2007)
A spectacular car, a incredibly unique. It's ironic that the last Duesenberg every built would look unlike any other Duesenberg, devoid of even the Duesenberg grill. A fantastic result, and well deserved. I can guarantee, however, that Jay Leno did not buy this car. Jay only buys cars he can drive, and this car was both designed to be riden in (based on the body), and is in such highly original condition (original tires and all and with only 10,000 miles on the clock) that I doubt he would want to buy it. Plus, it was rather expensive, more than any of the other cars in his collection.
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Steve 8:43AM (1/22/2007)
Original tires? Seriously?
I guess they ARE only 70 years old. Probably good for another 25-30 years or so?
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Richard Warren 10:59AM (1/22/2007)
A car truly worth the money.
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amp 12:48PM (1/22/2007)
If you ever find yourself a few miles north of Ft. Wayne, IN, you owe it to yourself to stop by the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum located in the town of Auburn. Make sure you have plent of time and film (or memory cards).
http://www.acdmuseum.org/
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Conner 10:54PM (1/22/2007)
I would love to know who the last owners were because I have sat in probably that exact same car. I know someone who knows someone and anyways this guy has an amazing car collection and he had that exact same car, black convertible and everything. His collection of cars was amazing but that was the most amazing car I have ever seen. I am 99% positive I have sat in that car, wow...
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