A significant advance in the automotive industry of the 1920s, the Duesenberg Model A featured a race-bred, overhead-cam eight-cylinder engine and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, far outshining other passenger cars of the era. It had remarkable performance and very balanced handling and road manners for the period.

The example offered here was originally delivered with a Bender sedan body. Likely in the 1940s, the chassis frame was shortened considerably, the cowl and radiator lowered, and new, more sporting bodywork fitted. Duesenberg historian Fred Roe believed that the car may have raced in this configuration. In the 1950s the car was acquired by Ralph Evans, a longtime Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club member from Puente, California, who fitted the current roadster body and kept the result well into the 1960s, occasionally showing it at ACD meets.

The current owner restyled the car with an aluminum tail, replacing the previous fiberglass panels, giving it a more attractive, well-proportioned body reminiscent of a Ford “high boy.” It incorporates several unusual and rare components, including fenders from a front-wheel-drive Ruxton, fitted by Mr. Evans, and a bronze windshield from an Auburn speedster, while the wheels are original Model A Duesenberg. The result has a thoroughly rakish appearance and would undoubtedly be a thrill to drive, as well as a surefire hit at anything from local concours to custom hot rod events. Thrilling and evocative, this custom Duesenberg “special” will no doubt be a head turner that will be sure to draw a crowd wherever it appears.