THE AUBURN CORD DUESENBERG AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM RECEIVES RARE 1927 DUESENBERG MODEL X DUAL-COWL PHAETON

THE AUBURN CORD DUESENBERG AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM RECEIVES RARE 1927 DUESENBERG MODEL X DUAL-COWL PHAETON

One of Four Remaining Prototype Model X’s Now Entrusted to Museum

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum is celebratig another unique donation. This fall, a rare 1927 Duesenberg Model X Dual-Cowl Phaeton was donated by Perry and Margie Pintzow of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The donation of the Model X makes this the second Duesenberg the Pintzow family has donated to the museum, the other being a Model A Running Chassis donated in 2019.  Both donations were facilitated by Museum Member and ACD Club Model A Duesenberg technician, Eric Killorin of Middlebury, Vermont.

The Model X was a transition model for Duesenberg and represented an improvement upon the sporty Straight-Eight engine in their passenger car. Different valve angle, moving the exhaust and intake together, and modified timing resulted in a modest increase in horsepower from 88 to 100. However, E. L. Cord wanted something grander. In total, it is believed that 13 Duesenberg Model X’s were constructed with only five of them receiving bodies. Of those five, only four remain, including the only Duesenberg Model X speedster owned by the museum, making the museum the stewards of half of the extant bodied model X’s in the world.

This Duesenberg features impeccably proportioned dual-cowl phaeton coachwork by Locke of New York and sports an elegant ivory and green color scheme. This Model X is the only surviving example of the two dual-cowl phaetons built and virtually every component is unique. It debuted at the Chicago Auto Salon in January 1928, wearing the identical color scheme seen today, where it was sold from the showroom floor. It was owned by famed collector Bill Harrah and was restored while in his care in 1964.

“The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum is both humbled and honored by the generosity and support of the Pintzow family,” states Brandon J. Anderson, Executive Director & CEO of the museum.  “This remarkable gift enriches the story of the Duesenberg brothers and showcases their work to create the greatest American automobiles ever produced.”  

Back to blog