Equipment
Body color wheel discs, whitewall tires, dual remote spotlights, dual enclosed sidemounts with mirrors, mesh hood sides, outside exhaust head pipes. Leather upholstery.
Condition
One of three built in this body style with skirted front fenders, teardrop fenders and a dramatically sloped rear deck with crank-operated disappearing top. Factory supercharged from new; frame replaced in 1940 after an accident. Concours restored with excellent paint, brilliant chrome and inviting upholstery. First in Class and Gwenn Graham Award at Pebble Beach in 1998. Shows no evidence of use and little age despite participating in several tours.
Market commentary
Opened at $2 million. Reserve met at $3.5 million. There are two Duesenbergs extant with this chassis number, the other being the Rudolf Bauer Rollson cabriolet with engine J-397. The history of this car is well known and it is impossible to mistake for anything else, with breathtaking bodywork that is as pretty as any 540K Special Roadster (and it's faster, too.) Generously but appropriately estimated by RM, the bidders recognized the quality of the J. Herbert Newport's design with a mid-estimate range price entirely appropriate to its presence.