Cord, Duesenberg, and Auburn are three carmakers we don’t hear much about these days. And that’s not surprising, given all three went the way of the dodo bird in the 1930s. But some of their automobiles still live on as beautiful and expensive classics.Their heritage is also alive thanks to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Company. Established in 1938 by Dallas Winslow, who purchased Auburn and its remaining parts inventory (Cord and Duesenberg were under the same financial roof), the company is still going strong in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, thanks to a gentleman named Doug Pray.
Come 2023, the company not only sells Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg automobiles but also provides service and parts for vehicles built by these brands. On top of that, Doug also hunts down barn finds. One of his more recent discoveries was a million-dollar 1931 Duesenberg Model J that spent 55 years in hiding.
But I’m talking about the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Company because Doug helped put together one of the most daring projects related to the three defunct brands. Meet the Cord Speedster, a one-off beauty that combines the iconic Cord “coffin nose” with the stylish boattail rear end of the Auburn Speedster.
The project was initially put on the drawing board in the 1990s by a gentleman who loved the Cord front end but wanted a boattail-style rear. He bought an original Cord hood to use as a mockup and made a taller and longer version from fiberglass. He then purchased an Auburn rear end to create the Speedster he always wanted.
He never got to finish it, though. The car sat for a while until it ended up with the current owner, who put it together and then finished it by Doug at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg shop. And it’s a gorgeous one-off that looks like a 1930s classic and drives like a modern car.
Sure, it’s not a 100% accurate replica. The “coffin nose” is a bit longer and taller, and the pop-up headlamps of the Cord 810/812 were replaced with regular, lens-covered lights. The gray-over-red finish might not align with 1930s color trends, but it doesn’t bother me one bit. This thing combines the best design features of two iconic Cord and Auburn automobiles, and that makes it perfect.
Thanks to the pink-accented gray upholstery and aluminum dashboard plates, the interior is just as gorgeous. At the same time, the Bluetooth system makes it easier to play your favorite tunes. Or maybe bring back the 1390s with songs by Duke Ellington, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, and Count Basie.
As for what’s under the shell, this Speedster doesn’t rely on Cord power. If you’re unfamiliar with the 810/812, it hit showrooms with a Lycoming-made 4.7-liter V8 rated 125 horsepower, which was a lot back in the day. And it was the first American car with front-wheel drive and independent front suspension and the first production vehicle with hidden headlamps.
But I digress. This gray “coffin nose” hides a more modern Ford V8. Our host doesn’t provide any info, but he did say it’s a 460-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) mill. Now unless it’s some custom powerplant, we’re probably talking about the largest-displacement version of the 385-series engine, which Ford produced from 1968 until 1997.
The earliest variant was introduced in the fourth-generation Lincoln Continental and hit the market with 365 horsepower on tap. The mill then found its way into the Ford Thunderbird in 1972 and the Mercury Cougar in 1974. It was also used in various full-size and intermediate Ford and Mercury models in the 1970s. Finally, while it was discontinued from passenger cars by 1980, it remained available in various configurations in the F-Series truck and E-Series van until 1997.
But even without specs and features, it’s safe to say it’s a more reliable alternative to a 90-year-old V8 from a Cord 810/812. I’m not sure we can call this creation a restomod, but it’s a marvelous contraption that should win beauty contests at classic car shows.