Duesenberg Model J launch specification
Duesenberg sold the mighty engine and chassis, then let a coachbuilder turn each one into its owner's very expensive dream car.
1928 Duesenberg Model J launch specification · Rex Gray · CC BY 2.0
Research pending
A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.
Joyride shows this gap instead of substituting an asking price, unsold bid or mismatched special vehicle.
More than a set of wheels.
The Model J arrived at New York's 1928 luxury-car Salon with a giant straight-eight and a chassis price of $8,500 before a body was added. Its engine used twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, racing-style ideas in a grand road car. Duesenberg sent chassis drawings to leading coachbuilders so customers could choose bodies ranging from open phaetons to formal limousines.
Look a little closer.
The Model J's dashboard used reminder lights for the automatic chassis-lubrication system, low battery water and lubrication trouble—early warning lamps long before digital dashboards.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
A chassis designed for tailors in metal
Revs explains that Duesenberg supplied the chassis, recognizable radiator, hood, lamps, fenders, running boards and bumpers, while specialist coachbuilders created the passenger body. That is why this profile describes a launch specification instead of pretending every 1928 Model J had one shape or weight.
Source: Revs Institute · 1930 Duesenberg Model J ↗What visitors read in 1928
A contemporary New Yorker report described a black-and-silver Duesenberg with a six-foot hood, 265 horsepower, 116 mph in high gear and 86 mph in second. It also described the dashboard warning lights. Those are period claims, not a modern instrumented road test, so the profile keeps that distinction visible.
Source: The New Yorker · Gold, Silver, and Snakeskin—A to Z with Duesenberg ↗A readable dashboard—carefully scoped
The dedicated instrument photograph in this gallery comes from a 1937 Bohman & Schwartz Landaulet, not the 1928 launch display car. It is valuable evidence of a later Model J driver environment, with a dense group of round gauges and controls, but its coachbuilt cabin cannot establish one universal Model J dashboard. Joyride therefore keeps the year and body maker attached to the image while the exact J-101 launch-panel gap stays open.
Source: Wikimedia Commons · 1937 Duesenberg J Bohman & Schwartz Landaulet interior ↗Where these facts come from
- Revs Institute · 1930 Duesenberg Model J collection record
- The New Yorker · 1928 Salon preview
- The New Yorker · contemporary Model J description
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed October 2, 2026.