“ This is an interesting project with Jaguar mechanicals. It's certainly a rare beast, and worthy of some TLC to turn it into the showstopper it deserves to be. ”
Full steel body with fibreglass wings, 4.2 Jaguar power and 4-speed gearbox with overdrive.

Background
“It is a monumental answer to wealthy America's insistent demand for the best that modern engineering and artistic ability can provide. Necessarily, its appeal is to only a very few. Any masterpiece can only be appreciated by those who understand the principles upon which its greatness is based. Therefore, the ownership of a Duesenberg reflects discernment far above the ordinary.”

So said the 1929 Duesenberg catalogue of the marque’s legendary Model J, America’s full-fat answer to the Rolls-Royce and the car of choice for the Wall Street bankers, movie stars and media moguls of the day.

The supercharged Model J, referred to as the SJ, was reputedly capable of reaching 104 miles per hour (in second gear) before going on to a top speed of 140-ish.

It was roughly the length of the Queen Mary and could hit 60mph quicker that you could button your spats, Brilliantine your quiff and sneak off to your local speakeasy.

Only 36 SJs were ever built, plus two bespoke cars - SSJs - which were built for Clark Gable and Gary Cooper.

The SSJ was said to be good for 400hp and capable of hitting 60mph in 7-and-a-bit seconds…..

…..in 1935.

Which, frankly, is extraordinary.

And so we come to the vehicle we have for you today.

On a dark and stormy night, at a range of around one nautical mile, in a hail storm, squinting through NHS spectacles, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the car we have here for you today might be Gary Cooper’s SSJ, which sold at auction in 2018 for $22,000,000.

Breaking news…..this isn’t that car.

Given that practically any Duesenberg SJ will today command in excess of $1,000,000, it’s perhaps not surprising that there is a market for recreations, evocations and other ‘specials’.

This is one such vehicle, and is a quite remarkable example of the breed.

Overview
The factory-fresh Duesenberg SJ featured a 320 bhp, 7-litre, DOHC inline eight-cylinder engine with a centrifugal supercharger, three-speed manual transmission, beam-type front and live rear axles with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and vacuum-assisted four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

This car doesn’t.

Instead, it has a Jaguar MK 7 chassis, a Jaguar 4.2-litre engine, a full steel body with glass-fibre wings, a 4-speed gearbox with overdrive, but the same Leviathan dimensions as the legend upon which it is based.

The full steel body is the thing that sets it apart from lesser SJ ‘specials’, many of which are entirely fabricated from composites and have much more of a kit-car feel to them.

This car is one of several that have come to us from the estate of a man who liked an automotive challenge and had the engineering skills and enthusiasm to embark upon all manner of recreations, evocations, tributes and other mechanical homages to the great marques and models of yesteryear.

This car is a project and will require some recommissioning before it may be used on the open road.

Exterior
The car’s journey from Jaguar MK 7 to Duesenberg SJ evocation is advanced but incomplete, as a quick glance will confirm.

The underlying structures, though, are all there and seem to us to be a pretty solid foundation from which to progress towards the finishing line.

The doors close with reassuring weight and accuracy.

The running boards feel solid and sturdy.

It’s been properly, if somewhat idiosyncratically, put together.

That said, you’ll struggle to find a panel that hasn’t got scuffs, scratches, cracks to the paint (or the glass-fibre in the case of the front valance), and outbreaks of (apparently) surface rust in sundry locations.

There’s also some bubbling to be found at the bottom of both doors.

The wire wheels are intact but very scruffy and in need of remedial attention.

The bonnet is spotted with surface rust throughout.

The exhaust seems to be hanging down rather low.

Like we said, there’s some work to do.

Some of the additions - the windscreen surround and ‘A’ pillars, the ‘decking’ at the rear, and the heavy-duty stainless-steel pipes holding the side-mounted spare wheels - have a rather Heath Robinson look and feel to them, but are all part of the vehicle’s truly unique character and charm.

The beige-coloured hood could do with a bit of TLC but doesn’t appear to be fundamentally damaged.

We noticed that it doesn’t fasten securely above the windscreen. We also noticed that it has no glass or plastic ‘window’ at the rear, which might make reverse parking quite a challenge in this 17ft-long colossus.

View car and current bid price HERE