From its inauspicious beginnings in 1903 in Auburn, Indiana, the Auburn Automobile Company struggled to stay ahead of the competition. By the mid-1920s, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy when a young Errett Lobban Cord entered the scene and became general manager. Cord drastically changed the marketing and styling image of Auburn. By 1931, Auburn offered a decidedly sporting and stylish boattail Speedster design—penned by designer Alan Leamy—that advanced the youthful image of the company. In 1934, the Great Depression pushed Auburn to curtail production of its V-12 and return to 6-cylinder models. However, the following year, it introduced an impressive straight-8 powered 851 boattail Speedster, which many enthusiasts consider one of the most beautiful automobiles of the Classic Era. Based on the original speedster design by Leamy, the Model 851 was updated and aerodynamically restyled by Gordon Miller Buehrig, who later designed the iconic front-drive 810 and 812 Cords. This restored 1935 Auburn Speedster with Chassis No. 33220E and Engine No. GH5863 is a superb example of the 147 supercharged models built for the 1935-36 model years. The red-painted chassis is based on a 127-inch wheelbase and is supported by a beam front axle and solid rear axle riding on parallel semi-elliptic leaf springs. It is equipped with chrome- plated, 16-inch, steel spoke wheels and 6.50-16 white sidewall tires, while 4-wheel Bendix hydraulic drum brakes provide the stopping power for this performance machine. The engine in this Auburn is a 280 CI Lycoming L-head inline 8-cylinder, developing 150 HP at 4,000 RPM using a Schwitzer- Cummins centrifugal supercharger. A 3-speed, floor-shifted synchromesh transmission sends power to the 2-speed rear end. This powerful combination led test driver Ab Jenkins to 70 new American and international stock class speed records, among them the mile at 104.17 MPH and 1,000 miles at 102.77 MPH. A plaque was attached to the instrument panel of each Speedster verifying the Speedster had been driven in excess of 100 MPH by Ab Jenkins. The steel body of this elegant Speedster is finished in deep gloss black and features rear-hinged doors, deeply scalloped pontoon fenders and bullet-shaped chrome-plated headlamps. Chrome-plated accents are present on the hood, rear and sides of the body, beautifully contrasting the black paint. Chrome-plated, curved front and rear bumpers and bright external exhaust pipes complete the exquisite styling cues that led to the Auburn winning top prizes at the Universal Exposition Concours in Belgium. The interior is trimmed in red leather with complementary red wool carpets with red leather binding. The 1935 Auburn 851 SC Speedster is among the Full Classics listed by the Classic Car Club of America. This Auburn was owned by Eugene Cowles of Lewisville, Texas, from 1978-1996, and was then purchased by Joao Magalhaes of Marbella, Spain, in 1996. In 2001, Magalhaes sold the car to a Portuguese collector, who commissioned a beautiful restoration finished just prior to the car returning to the U.S. in 2021. The car was then acquired by its current owner in 2021 from California. During the restoration commissioned by Magalhaes, red paint was discovered under the body mounts when the body was removed from the chassis. As the chassis was being stripped, red paint was found on the frame rails and cross members, leaving no doubt this car’s chassis was originally red. In the prewar era, many cars with red-painted chassis were displayed at auto shows or featured in special dealership demonstrations. The evidence of this car’s original red-painted chassis suggests this Auburn Speedster might have served duty as a show car or demonstrator early in its life.
