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By Cliff Vogelsang
Originally published in the March-April 2015 issue of the Hoosier Horn
For the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum, Christmas arrived on the 25th of January rather than the 25th of December. On the 25th of January, Rita and Peter Heydon of Ann Arbor, Michigan donated their 1927 Duesenberg Model X Boat Roadster to the ACD. Executive Director of the ACD, Laura Brinkman said, “We are grateful for this most significant donation to the museum’s permanent collection. The 1927 Duesenberg Model X Boat Roadster is the rarest of the rare and now it is home for all to enjoy.” On the 29th of January the author traveled to Auburn, IN to view this “rarest of the rare.”
When one enters the showroom the first car that is viewed is the Model X. A visitor cannot miss the vehicle. One is struck by the massive headlamps and the radiator gauge, functional on this model. The color is a dark blue with red striping. The author was told that originally the car was two shades of blue, but the shades were so close in tone as to be almost indistinguishable. The interior is red leather with a wood steering wheel. The dashboard is the same as a Model A. There is no clear record of the type of dash that was used, so in the restoration the Model A dashboard was used. The windshield is set at an angle and the cut of the doors is also angled. This gives the car an appearance of motion when not in motion. The Duesenberg brothers and McFarlan designed the Model X. The design certainly influenced the design of the Auburn Speedster. The body was built by McFarlan of Connersville, Indiana.
The Model X Boat Roadster chassis is one of only thirteen that were made. Sales of the 1926 Duesenbergs were slow and Fred and Augie were looking for a way to increase sales. Duesenberg was planning to build a production model but that idea was dropped when E. L. Cord took over the company. Several of the X chassis were destroyed or modified for the Model J. Today three exist in Model J’s and one as the platform for the Model X in the ACD. This car was built for the 1927 New York Auto Salon.
The Model X has a 135” wheelbase. The engine is an inline straight 8. The engine has a displacement of 260 cubic inches and produces 100 horsepower. The car has a three speed manual transmission and Lockheed, four-wheel hydraulic brakes. The Model X has a top speed of 90 mph. The Model X combines both luxury and performance. Curator, Aaron Warkentin, in a press release at the time of the donation said: “This automobile showcases a crucial change in automotive history and design and in the public understanding of the importance of manufacturing a car with both racing performance and elegant style.”
Dr. Heydon purchased the car in 1997 and then began a three year restoration project. Brian Joseph of Troy, Michigan did the restoration, the upholstery was made by Mark Larder of Homer, Michigan, and the car was painted by Larry Jordan of Jackson, Michigan.
The Heydons began showing the restored Model X in 2000. In August of that year the car won the “Class Award,” Boat-Tails from the Twenties at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. In September the car was awarded the “Harold T. Ames Best of Show Award” at the Annual ACD Club Reunion in Auburn, IN. In March of 2001 the Model X won the “Best Duesenberg” at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. In 2010 the Model X was shipped to Europe where it won two awards. The first award was “First Place in Class” at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como, Italy. This concorso shows fifty cars by invitation only. The Model X also won the “Best One-Off Model” at “UNIQUES” Concorso in Fireenze, Italy. These are only a few of the awards the Model X has received.
The author is grateful for the assistance given him by Aaron Warkentin, Jon Bill, and Sam Grate. When he visited the ACD Museum they were welcoming and most helpful. They presented me with a manila folder containing much of the information used in this article. Thank you, Gentlemen!
Christmas comes but once a year. With the gift of the Model X to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum, Christmas may have come once in a lifetime.
Captions
1. Design diagram of the 1927 Duesenberg Model X Boat Roadster.
2. The 1927 Duesenberg Model X Boat Roadster in Indianapolis c. 1927. For more information on this car check out the January-February and March-April 2011 CCCA “Beeper.”
3 and 4. The most famous showroom in the car collector world- the factory showroom of the Auburn Automobile Company. Built in 1930, this Art Deco palace was restored starting in 1974 when the building re-opened as the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum. This is the perfect setting to display the rare beauty of the 1927 Duesenberg Model X Boat Roadster.