Duesenberg Model Sj Lagrande Dual-cowl Phaeton

The Duesenberg SJ equipped with a mechanical supercharger is introduced in 1932

Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, James Cagney, Mae West, Lupe Velez, Joe E. Brown, Dolores del Rio, Howard Hughes, William Randolph Hearst, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, Prince Nicolas of Romania: the Duesenberg had many famous owners, especially in Hollywood, but also in the rest of high society. The first owner of this Duesenberg SJ, where the S stands for Supercharged (with supercharger), is a very wealthy fighter pilot from the First World War, Reginald Sinclaire. Like other Duesenberg owners he lays out about 20,000 dollars for his new car; about 8,500 dollars for the chassis with engine and 12,000 for the bodywork, in this case a LaGrande with a V shaped windscreen made by Rollston. For comparison: a Ford at that time costs 500 dollars. For the price of the chassis alone you could therefore buy seventeen Fords. The Duesenberg SJ, equipped with a mechanical centrifugal supercharger, is introduced in 1932. Thanks to the supercharger the engine now delivers 320 hp and the car can reach a top speed of 210 km/h. However, the supercharger takes up a lot of space, which is why the exhaust pipes are placed outside the hood. It gives the car such a powerful appearance that this embellishment is offered as an option for the Duesenberg J, without supercharger, for 1,000 dollars. Despite good sales figures for both the J and SJ models, the Depression has the final say and Duesenberg has to close its doors in 1937. About 35 examples of the SJ were built. This is the only SJ with a LaGrande body.