The Duesenberg Model A incorporated an unmatched combination of mechanical features, including a race-proven, overhead-cam, straight-eight engine and the first use of hydraulic brakes on a production automobile. This handsome roadster beautifully embodies those advancements with its sporting lines. A story persists that this particular Model A was used in its earliest years by the Duesenberg brothers and their engineers as an early test bed for the application of superchargers to their cars. In support of this, a 5,000 rpm tachometer appears to have long since been added to the dashboard, which would have been of particular use in such an endeavor.

This Duesenberg was photographed in outdoor storage in the 1950s fitted with postwar California license plates. According to one account, when word began to spread about the Duesenberg’s existence, it was moved to the basement garage of the Villa Riviera apartment building in Long Beach, disassembled, and packed in wooden crates to shield it from public view. Its registered owner since at least the mid-1960s, Marjorie Delaplane of Long Beach, offered the Duesenberg for sale in 1990, and it was swiftly purchased by Stan Lucas.

The car appears today in partially restored condition, with several crates of additional parts and components accompanying the sale. The prospect of completing its restoration and returning it to the road after decades of absence provides an intriguing opportunity to devotees of the Duesenberg marque.