Beschreibung:

While the American automobile industry’s development in its formative years had been guided by the inventor/engineer, its progress between the wars was shaped not so much by technicians as by entrepreneurs. One such was Auburn boss Errett Lobban Cord, who once admitted to having made and lost $50,000 three times in the course of his business dealings, and all before reaching the age of 21! When Cord joined Auburn as general manager in 1924 the company was in the doldrums, making more cars than it could sell and heading for bankruptcy. After some Cord-inspired re-styling Auburn sales picked up and the stage was set for the creation of a glorious new automotive empire. The first Auburn car, a single-cylinder runabout, had been built by the Eckhart brothers, of Auburn, Indiana in 1900, though production proper did not begin until 1903. Auburns with two, four and six cylinders followed before the brothers sold out in 1919. Prescience was obviously an Eckhart strong point, as the immediately ensuing post-war recession hit Auburn hard. From the moment E L Cord arrived however, the company's fortunes improved markedly. In 1925 Cord arranged for Lycoming straight-eight engines to be installed in the existing six-cylinder chassis and instigated a re-styling programme that saw the new-for-’25 Auburns featuring two-tone colour schemes and a novel belt-line that swept up over the bonnet. Sales doubled for three consecutive years and in 1926 Cord became president of the Auburn Automobile Company. The eight-cylinder Auburns were soon challenging Stutz for the accolade of ‘America’s fastest’, Al Leamy driving an 8-115 Speedster at 108.46mph over the measured mile at Daytona in 1928 and going on to take the 24 hours record at Atlantic City Speedway. Not only were they outstanding performers, the eight-cylinder Auburns also represented exceptional value for money: at $1,395 the top-of-the-range ’31 Speedster was less than half the price of the equivalent Stutz. ‘More car for the money than the public has ever seen,’ enthused Business Week magazine. Despite the introduction of the world’s cheapest-ever V12, Auburn’s fortunes declined through the mid-1930s as Cord’s business empire grew to include Lycoming, Duesenberg, Columbia Axle and Checker Cab as well as interests in shipbuilding and aviation. Against this background the eight-cylinder Auburn line reached its zenith in 1935 with the introduction of the 851. One of the truly great American automobiles of the 1930s, the Auburn 851 (renamed ‘852’ for 1936) offered breathtaking performance - 100 miles an hour was guaranteed - courtesy of its 4.6-litre, supercharged, Lycoming straight-eight engine and innovative, Columbia, dual-ratio rear axle. Looking like a million dollars, the Auburn owed its sensational appearance to designer Gordon Buehrig, who – though he was only 30 – had already worked for Dietrich, Packard and General Motors in Detroit, and Stutz and Duesenberg in Indianapolis before joining Auburn in 1934. Buehrig transformed the appearance of the range – always a style setter since the Cord takeover – adopting a new radiator grille that gave the car real presence and visual strength. Sadly, just two years later Cord’s empire had crashed and Auburn was gone for good, but few automobile manufacturers can have bowed out with anything approaching the style of the glorious 851. This wonderful Auburn 852 with dual phaeton coachwork was purchased by the current owner in 1990 from the famous French dealer, Jean-François-Dumontant, having previously been owned – in the USA – be Mr John E Garman, of Stroudsburg, PA. While in the vendor’s care the car has undergone extensive refurbishment, the interior having been re-trimmed and a new convertible top fitted by STR, of Romainville in 1991; the coachwork restored by Automobiles D’Antan, of Chatillon in 2000; and the engine rebuilt in 2006 by Vintage Garage in Olivet. Invoices for all the foregoing are contained within the accompanying history file