Duesenberg Model J, Black & Silver

Duesenberg unveiled the Model J at the New York show on 1 December 1928. Its straight-eight of 420 cubic inches, 6.9 litres, had twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder and gave 265 hp at 4,250 rpm; Duesenberg designed it and Lycoming, another company owned by Cord, built it. The claimed top speed was 116 mph. A bare chassis cost $8,500, and once a coachbuilder such as Murphy, LeBaron or Rollston had bodied it, most finished cars sold for between $13,000 and $19,000. Duesenberg made 481 of them between 1928 and 1937, 36 of those supercharged SJs, and about 378 survive.

This model is an open two-seater in gloss black, with the bonnet top, scuttle and long pointed tail picked out in silver. Spare wheels sit in both front wings, chrome strakes run along the rear wings, and the Duesenbird mascot stands above a chrome grille flanked by large headlamps, a pair of driving lamps and cowl lamps on the scuttle. The wire wheels wear whitewall tyres, the cockpit is trimmed in red, and the tail carries a pair of STOP lamps and a plate that reads Duesenberg 1929. It sits on a cobbled base with a small plaque.