| Duesenberg Special / Mormon Meteor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Designer | J. Herbert Newport [1] |
| Body and chassis | |
| Layout | FR |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Duesenberg Special: 420 cu in (7 L) 400 hp (298 kW) I8 Mormon Meteor: 1,570 cu in (26 L) Curtiss Conqueror 750 hp (559 kW) V12 [2] |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 142.5 in (3,620 mm) [3] [4] |
The Mormon Meteor I and III were two land speed record cars built in the 1930s by Ab Jenkins. [5]
The Duesenberg Special was a one-off speed record car. [4] It was built in 1935 on a supercharged Duesenberg Model J rolling chassis with a standard wheelbase [4] of 142.5 in (3,620 mm), [6] [3] a dropped front axle, [1] [3] 18 in (457 mm) wheels instead of the standard 19 in (483 mm) wheels, and a non-standard 3:1 rear axle ratio. [1] The engine was highly tuned by August Duesenberg, [4] with the compression ratio raised to 7.5:1 and different engine bearings being used. [1] High performance parts developed for the Special, especially the "ram's horn" twin-carburetor inlet manifold, would be used on later supercharged Js (or "SJ"s as they were called by the public). [4]
Financing for the Duesenberg Special came from sponsorship solicited by Ab Jenkins from oil companies and accessory manufacturers and distributors. Jenkins guaranteed his sponsors that he would break established speed records with the car. He delivered on his guarantee in October 1935, when he set a one-hour record of 153.97 mph (247.79 km/h) and a twenty-four-hour record of 135.57 mph (218.18 km/h) at a circuit on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The 24-hour record would be held until 1961. [4]
In search of higher speed records, Jenkins had the Duesenberg Special modified by replacing the Duesenberg engine with a Curtiss Conqueror aircraft engine. [2] [4] August Duesenberg designed new parts to connect the aircraft engine to the car's drivetrain. Work on the car was supervised by August Duesenberg and done largely by him and by Ab Jenkins' son Marvin. [2]
This version of the car was named Mormon Meteor [4] and Ab Jenkins began breaking records with it in 1936, beginning with a 500 km (311 mi) record of 164.47 mph (264.69 km/h). Jenkins and Babe Stapp drove the car to a 24-hour average of 153.82 mph (247.55 km/h) and a 48-hour average of 148.64 mph (239.21 km/h). In 1937, Jenkins and Louis Meyer increased the car's 24-hour record to 157.27 mph (253.10 km/h). [2]
The combination of the V12 aircraft engine and the almost stock Duesenberg chassis caused understeer at high speed. Jenkins had August Duesenberg, now an independent engineer after the closure of Duesenberg Inc., design and build a new chassis to contain the aircraft engine. [2] After the aircraft engine was removed from the Mormon Meteor in 1938, the car was restored to Duesenberg Special specifications, [4] the body was modified for road use, [7] and the car was driven by Ab and Marv Jenkins on the streets for about 20,000 mi (32,000 km) until 1943. [4] [7]
The car was kept in street form until 2004. [8] That year, the family that had owned it since 1959 [4] [8] [5] had it sold at Gooding & Company's Pebble Beach Auction. [3] [5] The new owner had the car restored to its 1935 racing condition [5] and entered it in the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, which it won. [3] [5]
The car was known in its original form as the "Duesenberg Special". [4] After the aircraft engine was installed, [9] the Deseret News held a contest to name the car. The winning name of "Mormon Meteor" was announced on August 1, 1936. [10] Although the term "Mormon Meteor" refers to the car in aircraft-engined form, the car was still referred to as the Mormon Meteor after its original Duesenberg drivetrain was replaced. [4] This has resulted in the Duesenberg Special being referred to as "Mormon Meteor I" and the actual Mormon Meteor being referred to as "Mormon Meteor II".
| Mormon Meteor III | |
|---|---|
| Body and chassis | |
| Layout | FR |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1,570 cu in (26 L) Curtiss Conqueror 750 hp (559 kW) V12 [2] |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 156 in (3,962 mm) |
The Mormon Meteor III was built in 1937 to handle the large Curtiss Conqueror airplane engine. It was built by both Ab's son Marv Jenkins and Augie Dusenberg. Ab sent Marv to build the car with Dusenberg at only age 17. This intimate knowledge of the Meteor III enabled Marv to complete the meticulous restoration that required most parts to be fabricated again from scratch many years later after his father Ab's passing. It had many unique features, such as the body offset by six inches on the frame to help the car turn on the track. [2] In 1939, Jenkins drove the car 171 mph (275 km/h) and broke all of the 12-hour endurance records. [2] The Mormon Meteor III set a 24-hour record of 161.180 mph (259.394 km/h) in 1940 that would not be broken until 1990. [11]
Spirit of America is the trademarked name used by Craig Breedlove for his land speed record-setting vehicles.
Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was an American racing and luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing the straight-eight engine and four-wheel hydraulic brakes. A Duesenberg car was the first American car to win a Grand Prix race, winning the 1921 French Grand Prix. Duesenbergs won the Indianapolis 500 in 1922, 1924, 1925 and 1927. Transportation executive Errett Lobban Cord acquired the Duesenberg corporation in 1926. The company was sold and dissolved in 1937.
Auburn was a brand name of American automobiles produced from 1900 to 1937, most known for the Auburn Speedster models it produced, which were fast, good-looking and expensive. However, after the 1929 Wall Street Crash, and the economic downturn that ensued, Auburn's expensive automobiles, along with its also very expensive sister marques Duesenberg and Cord, saw inevitable sales downturns, and all vehicle business halted in 1937.
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Frederick Samuel Duesenberg was a German-born American automobile and engine designer, manufacturer and sportsman who was internationally known as a designer of racecars and racing engines. Duesenberg's engineering expertise influenced the development of the automobile, especially during the 1910s and 1920s. He is credited with introducing an eight-cylinder engine, also known as the Duesenberg Straight-8 engine, and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a first for American cars, in addition to other mechanical innovations. Duesenberg was also patentholder of his designs for a four-wheel hydraulic brake, an early automatic transmission, and a cooling system, among others. Fred and his younger brother, August "Augie" Duesenberg, shared the patents, filed in 1913 and renewed in 1918, for their "walking beam" four-cylinder engine and the Duesenberg Straight 8.
August Samuel Duesenberg was a German-born American automobile and engine manufacturer who built American racing and racing engines that set speed records at Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1920; won the French Grand Prix in 1921; and won Indianapolis 500-mile races, as well as setting one-hour and 24-hour speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 1935. He also shared with his older brother, Frederick S. "Fred" Duesenberg, patents filed in 1913 and renewed in 1918 for a four-cylinder engine design and the Duesenberg Straight 8.
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David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins was the 24th mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah between 1940 and 1944. He was a professional race car driver. Jenkins' interest in motorsports began with racing motorcycles on dirt tracks and across country. He then became interested in land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. He was instrumental in establishing Bonneville as a location for such events, and in attracting overseas drivers such as George Eyston and Sir Malcolm Campbell to compete there.
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The Duesenberg Model A was the first automobile in series production to have hydraulic brakes and the first automobile in series production in the United States with a straight-eight engine. Officially known as the Duesenberg Straight Eight, the Model A was first shown in late 1920 in New York City. Production was delayed by substantial changes to the design of the car, including a change in the engine valvetrain from horizontal overhead valves to an overhead camshaft; also during this time, the company had moved its headquarters and factory from New Jersey to Indiana. The Model A was manufactured in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1921 to 1925 by the Duesenberg Automobiles and Motors Company and from 1925 to 1926 at the same factory by the restructured Duesenberg Motor Company. The successors to the company began referring to the car as the Model A when the Model J was introduced. With a top speed of 71mph.
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