THE AUBURN SPEEDSTER

In the days when Bugattis crossed France and 4½-Litre Bentleys tore through the British countryside, the American equivalent was the Auburn speedster. Indiana’s Auburn Automobile Company revealed its first version of this dashing body style, inspired by a Duesenberg show car, for the 1928 model year and would offer variations on the theme through to the end of production in 1936.

The 1935–1936 speedsters were designed by the legendary Gordon Buehrig. Audacious by the standards of their time, they featured curvaceous bodywork with a straight hood line shooting back from the radiator to a sharply vee’d windshield, down between pontoon fenders, over gently sloping doors, and descending in a graceful taper to the rear bumper. It was this distinctive rear design, elegantly outlined by chrome and striping, which gave the speedster its everlasting nickname, “the Boattail.”

Underneath, the speedster shared the same exciting mechanicals as other supercharged Auburn models. The glistening chrome side exhaust heralded the presence of a Schwitzer-Cummins blower, which boosted the horsepower of the Auburn straight-eight to 150 from a normally aspirated reading of 115. The 150 horsepower was sent to a Columbia dual-ratio rear axle, standard equipment on the supercharged models, which provided two ratios for each gear, one low and one high. The ratios could be changed as often as desired while at very low speeds or at a stop by moving the switch in the center of the steering wheel. This provided the supercharged Auburn with much greater flexibility, making it a true “driver’s car,” ideal for both purring through crowded cities and roaring down country lanes.

Each speedster bore on its dashboard a plaque inscribed, “This certifies that this AUBURN AUTOMOBILE has been driven 100.8 miles per hour before shipment.” It was signed by David “Ab” Jenkins, the speed-record driver who achieved some of his greatest successes at Bonneville behind the wheel of a late Auburn speedster. Of course, the plaques were merely factory decoration installed on the production line. Then again, no one who has driven these cars since has ever complained about a lack of speed!

SERIAL NUMBER 851 33833 E

The earliest known owner of serial number 851 33833 E, the car offered here, was one William Ryan of Northern Ohio. Historians believe he acquired it in the 1940s and disassembled it in the 1950s, but never got around to completing its restoration. It was eventually acquired from Ryan’s care in the late 1990s by the partnership of Jerry Vincentini and Gary Kuck of Nebraska, who together sold it in 2001 to fellow Cornhusker State resident and noted early Auburn collector, Don Ohnstad.

Mr. Ohnstad undertook a complete, concours-quality restoration of the car, writing to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg (ACD) Club that “I did not change any drivetrain components. The body, fenders, hood, grille shell, and side aprons were with the car and original.” In the course of the restoration, the doors were re-skinned and one side of the hood was replaced, as was much of the original wood body structure, with the goal of making the car as authentic and proper as the day it left the factory. This included matching the finish to the original Cigarette Cream, traces of which, Mr. Ohnstad recounted, he found on the car as it was taken apart.

The car was completed by Mr. Ohnstad in 2009, and that year taken to the ACD Club’s National Reunion in Auburn, Indiana. There it was Certified as a Category 1 Original Car, paperwork for which is included in the file and confirms that the car retains both its original frame and engine. It eventually achieved Senior Emeritus status in ACD Club competition, and the 1st Place People’s Choice Award at the Art of the Car Concours in Kansas City in 2015. Several years ago it was acquired by the present owner, himself a longtime Auburn enthusiast, and has since remained extremely well-cared-for within his own collection. Its finishes remain in excellent, concours-quality condition, and, indeed, the car requires little to continue showing to great effect in club competition and at concours.

It is an excellent example of one of the most exciting cars that this country has ever produced—the memorable, magnificent “boattail” Auburn.