RM Sotheby’s annual Motor City sale this July 30 at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Michigan, will offer of one of the most significant American motor cars of the Classic Era, a 1929 Duesenberg Model J “Disappearing Top” Convertible Coupe by Murphy (above, Darin Schnabel photo courtesy of RM Sotheby’s). The proceeds from the sale of the Duesenberg will benefit Hillsdale College, a top-ranked, non-profit, classical liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan.
This rare Duesenberg is one of just a handful of similar, yet completely custom, cars individually built for their original owners. Their exclusive status and spectacular lines have made them the favored body style on the Model J chassis. The featured Duesenberg is offered complete with its original engine and dealer-installed Murphy “Disappearing Top” Convertible Coupe body, and has enjoyed enthusiast ownership throughout its life.
“The chance to present a Duesenberg Model J ‘Disappearing Top’ at auction is a rare event,” says Gord Duff, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s, “making J-119 a particularly exciting highlight for our Motor City sale. Not only is J-119 special as one of only 25 examples built in this body style — one of the pinnacle body designs on the famed Model J — but the fact that it has been in enthusiast ownership for decades and frequently driven, also differentiates it from its peers. All in all, it’s an excellent driver’s Duesenberg set to benefit a very worthy cause.”
Additional offerings at RM’s Motor City sale should include:
- A pair of Packard Twelve Coupe Roadsters, the marque’s most prestigious 12-cylinder model, including chassis no. 901615, possibly the last 1933 Packard Twelve Coupe Roadster produced, finished in green with a complementing light green leather interior, and a 1938 model, vehicle no. 1139-2021, freshly restored.
- An award-winning 1930 Cord L-29 Cabriolet, serial no. 2927648. With known history from new and its original chassis, engine, and body, the ACD Club Category One Certified Cord is offered from the estate of its third owner, Kalamazoo businessman and enthusiast Wendell Gates II, who purchased the car as a junior high school student in 1946, so this legendary L-29 is available for the first time in seven decades.
For more complete information please visit www.rmsothebys.com
