This 83-year-old speedster is now the most expensive American car ever

Gary Cooper’s Duesenberg SSJ sells for record $22m

$22m can get you a lot of things: a mansion; a private jet; even a Trump-Kim summit. It could also get you an ex-Gary Cooper 1935 Duesenberg SSJ – like the one that just sold at Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction.

That astonishing price tag makes it comfortably the most expensive American car ever sold at auction – and there were suitable gasps of shock and awe in the California auction room as the hammer fell.

The previous record was set in 2016, when the first ever Shelby Cobra went on the auction stand at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale – but its $13.8m sale price was no match for the SSJ.

Why would someone spend $22m on an 83-year-old speedster? Here’s everything you need to know about this record-breaking motor.

Sibling startup

Duesenberg Motors Company – or ‘Duesy’ for short – was founded in 1913 by brothers Fred and Augie Duesenberg.

Racing pedigree

The marque soon became a racing success: Duesenberg machines won the French Grand Prix in 1921 and the Indianapolis 500 in 1924, ’25 and ’27.

Acquired on the up

Such success brought the company suitable prestige and attention, and in 1926 one Errett Lobban Cord bought the Indianapolis-based firm.

Best of the best

Cord’s vision was to build the ultimate luxury performance machine, the most expensive and exclusive car ever seen.

Performance with a price

Revealed in 1928, the Duesenberg Model J was a 265bhp speedster that cost $8500 for the chassis alone – roughly $125,000 (£97,000) in today’s money.

Lofty targets

Despite the price tag, Cord aimed to sell 500 examples of the luxury machine each year.

Bad timing

Alas, things fell apart just a year later as the stock market crashed and the Great Depression hit – and, in ’32, Fred Duesenberg passed away.

Plenty of leftovers

Production of the Model J ceased in 1935, after just 428 examples were sold – and the company had a further 22 sitting unsold.

Celebrity endorsement

Cord realised something had to be done to save the company, so he used his Hollywood connections to pull off a shrewd marketing move that he hoped would trigger sales of the Model J.

Hollywood wheels

Duesenberg would build a pair of special-edition machines that would be loaned to Gary Cooper and Clark Gable – arguably the biggest acting stars of the day.

Special-edition speedster

Duesenberg’s chief designer, J Herbert Newport Jr, was tasked with creating the two ‘special speedsters’ on a shorter 125-inch wheelbase – known today by the SSJ moniker.

Classic style

After much trial and error – including an attempt at a modern, aerodynamic design that was rejected in favour of a more classic look – the final SSJ was born.

Shades of J

Recognisably a Duesenberg machine, it carried the company’s classic radiator and wheelarches, while the body aped the popular phaeton shell of the Model J.

European influence

The unique speedster also took styling cues from the European sports cars of the period, with a spare wheel mounted on the rear, external exhaust pipes and a rounded rear-end.

Fake it 'til you make it

An Indiana company, CMC, built the SSJ’s lightweight bodywork – though credit actually went to ‘LaGrande’, an invented entity created to make the enterprise seem more prestigious.

Straight-eight screamer

At the core of the two SSJ machines were supercharged straight-eight motors, complete with twin carburettors and cast-aluminium intake manifolds.

Three of a kind

Only three Duesenberg machines were ever fitted with the 400bhp engine: the two SSJ cars and the ‘Mormon Meteor’ – a Duesenberg Special shipped to racer Ab Jenkins.

World-beating power

The rare block made the SSJs the most powerful pre-war production cars built – if a series of two can be called ‘production’.

Almost identical

Both SSJs were finished in 1935, with the tail-lights and paint scheme the only elements that separated each machine.

Special presentation

In December of ’35, Cord’s son Charles personally presented Gable and Cooper with their respective SSJs.

Too little, too late

Did the marketing exercise work? Sadly not: no photographic evidence is believed to exist of either actor with their Duesenberg – and the company folded in 1937.

The icon lives on

But that wasn’t the end of the line for chassis 2594 – the example sold at the Gooding & Company sale on 24 August. 

Factory bargain

Equipped with engine J-563, the SSJ was loaned to Cooper for a six-month period, before being offered to the actor at cost price – around $5000, or $90,000 (£70,000) today.

Part-exchange

While Gable opted not to buy his car, Cooper did – and shrewdly traded his Derham Tourster for a discounted price.

Changing shades

At some point the colour of Cooper’s car was changed from the original Yukon Gold and Chocolate Brown finish first to a sandy shade, then to dark green – reportedly because Cooper’s wife didn’t like the initial choice.

Soon sold on

How long Cooper owned his SSJ for isn’t certain, though photos suggest it was stabled in Los Angeles in the late ’30s, before it underwent a string of sales – passing initially to its second owner, Reese Milner.

Wealthy owners

Milner – a wealthy man born into the family that founded the iron works that supplied much of the steel used in the LA construction boom of the early 20th century – held the SSJ for a brief period, before selling it to Robert Stanley Dollar Jr, a classmate at Stanford and heir to a timber and shipping fortune.

Hot potato

Dollar Jr would then sell the 400bhp machine around 1940 to Ernest Kahl, who in turn would pass it on to mechanic John Seelinger when he was deployed by the US Army.

Another new coat

Seelinger refinished the SSJ in a two-tone paint job and rebuilt the engine, before it was bought by Donald Baldocchi who, in turn, sold it in around 1948 to Duesenberg enthusiast John Troka.

Entering the collection

Still not settled, the SSJ was shortly acquired by a shrewd Illinois collector by the name of Peck who offered it to his friend, racer and famed collector Briggs Cunningham.

Performance overhaul

Cunningham jumped at the chance and paid $3500 for the ultra-rare SSJ in 1949, before tasking his mechanic Jim Hoe with bringing it back to its best.

Appropriate plates

Given a full work-over by Hoe, Cunningham then had the SSJ repainted in olive drab and fitted with plates that read ‘DUSY’.

Going on show

In the early ’60s, Cunningham moved to California and established his famous Automotive Museum, which became home to his world-renowned collection – including the SSJ.

Final finish

Once stabled on the West Coast, the SSJ was again refinished – this time in the two-tone grey scheme it still wears today – and fitted with new plates, ahead of occasional concours appearances.

Long-term owner

In 1986 the one-of-two speedster was sold to Miles C Collier (along with the entire collection) who retained it for 32 years, until the 2018 Gooding & Company sale.

Regular show-goer

During its time with Collier, the SSJ was exhibited several times, including outings at the Amelia Island and Pebble Beach concours events.

Kept, not restored

Preserved and maintained in almost entirely original condition – complete with patina on the paintwork – the SSJ went to auction as an unrestored, unrivalled classic with all the character an 83-year-old machine should have.

Low-mileage original

Everything from the chassis, engine and bodywork to the leather upholstery and layers of paint remain original – and the new owner will find just 20,000 miles on the clock.

Record-breaker

All of which helps to explain why this outstanding, ultra-rare classic scored a record-breaking sale price when the hammer fell on Friday 24 August – making it the most valuable car ever sold by Gooding & Company, and the most expensive American car in history.

Top of the lots

Cars rarely come more storied than this – even the very first Cobra, built and used by Carroll Shelby, which sold at RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction in 2016 for $13.8m and set the previous record for the most expensive American car sold at auction.

Good omen

Whether or not you think the SSJ is worth $22m, that sale is likely very good news for both the car itself and enthusiasts: stabled with a custodian who’s willing to pay $22m for the privilege of owning such a historic machine, the SSJ will probably be meticulously maintained for many years to come.

Italian competition

It was also comfortably the biggest lot at the Gooding & Company auction, though it might not be the biggest of the Monterey weekend: a Ferrari 250GTO is set to go under the hammer at the RM Sotheby’s sale on 25 August – and it could fetch $45m (£34m).