This Duesenberg beat every other production car to the punch: it was the first to put hydraulic brakes on all four wheels, years before the rest of the industry caught up.
Lead trim: Model A 260 cu in SOHC straight-eight (88 bhp)
Duesenberg Model AA · 1921–1926
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Duesenberg Model A yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThis Duesenberg beat every other production car to the punch: it was the first to put hydraulic brakes on all four wheels, years before the rest of the industry caught up.
The Duesenberg Model A (officially the Duesenberg Straight Eight, designed by Fred and August Duesenberg) was a rear-wheel-drive luxury car built in Indianapolis from 1921 to 1926, first shown in late 1920 at the Commodore Hotel in New York (production delayed to late 1921); it was the first car in series production with hydraulic brakes and the first in the United States with a straight-eight engine, supplied as a rolling chassis for coachbuilt bodies. Its 260 cu in (4.3 L) shaft-driven SOHC straight-eight (73.0 x 127.0 mm, cast-iron block with three bearings) made 88 bhp at 3600 rpm and 170 lb-ft at 1500 rpm through a three-speed manual; the standard wheelbase was 134 in and the long 141 in (the Duesenberg Brothers built racing cars separately).
Collectors Spotted in the Duesenberg Model A Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Duesenberg Model A yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model A 260 cu in SOHC straight-eight (88 bhp) | 1921–1926 | 4.3 L Inline-8 | 88 hp | 170 lb-ft | — | RWD | manual | — |
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Owners’ builds
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Photographs
Rivals
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Fred Duesenberg, the engineer behind the Model J, died of pneumonia from injuries suffered crashing one of his own cars — a Murphy-bodied SJ convertible.
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Only two SSJs were built — one for Gary Cooper, one lent to Clark Gable — and the two movie stars used to race each other through the Hollywood Hills in them.
The 1916 Type 53 quietly invented the modern car's cockpit: center-mounted gear lever and handbrake, key-start ignition, and the clutch-brake-throttle pedal order every car still uses today.
Packard's first four-cylinder car, the 1903 Model K, was so exclusive that only 34 were built — at $7,300 apiece, it's still the most expensive Packard the company ever made.
Studebaker charged extra for four-wheel hydraulic brakes on the 1926 Special Six, leaving disc wheels and stopping power both as options.
Once Packard's new straight-eight arrived in 1924, the once-flagship Six got bumped down market — repositioned to compete with the Buick Master Six and, later, the Chrysler Six.
This Packard Six was the last Packard ever sold under the word "model" — after it, Packard switched to the series-based naming it used for the rest of its history.