Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton
This dramatic convertible hid its headlights, drove its front wheels and let the driver choose the next gear with a tiny switch—all in 1937.
1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton - fvr (12823712025).jpg · Rex Gray · CC BY 2.0
What did this one sell for?
Make a guess, then reveal one identity-matched completed auction result. It is a comparison point, not a price promise.
Reveal the auction result
Based on a completed sale at RM Sotheby's, an estimated value for this vehicle is $170,500.
Why this sale: Exact 1937 U.S.-market factory-supercharged four-passenger Cord 812 Phaeton with the 289-cubic-inch Lycoming V8, four-speed preselector and standard-wheelbase convertible body. Matching-numbers engine, 22 years of single ownership, ACD Club Category 1 certification and a well-maintained older restoration in cream over red leather. Those authenticity and condition factors can materially affect value.
RM's displayed sold price includes the 10% RMA buyer's premium for this U.S. motor-car auction; taxes, the title administration fee, transport and storage are excluded. One auction result is a reference, not an appraisal; condition, history, options, location and market timing can change value. Accepted as an identity-matched completed sale found in the October 3, 2026 review. A different 2021 result was rejected because the auction house said factory-supercharged status could not be proven; older exact-model results remain research context rather than substitutes for this later accepted sale.
More than a set of wheels.
Gordon Buehrig's Cord 810 shape caused a sensation for 1936. For 1937 the renamed 812 could add a centrifugal supercharger, announced visually by shiny external exhaust pipes. The four-passenger Phaeton mixed that advanced powertrain with a disappearing convertible top and a low body that needed no running boards. Production ended in 1937, turning it into a brief but influential American experiment.
Look a little closer.
The headlights are raised by small hand cranks on the dashboard—hidden lamps without electric motors.
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 front-drive layout changes the shape
Putting the entire powertrain at the front removed the long driveshaft and rear transmission tunnel. Buehrig could make the body low enough to do without running boards, while the flat 'coffin nose' grille and concealed lamps kept the front clean. Independent front suspension helped each driven wheel follow the road.
Source: RM Sotheby's · 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton ↗Speed records after the factory had stopped
In September 1937, Ab Jenkins drove a supercharged Cord sedan to a 107.66 mph flying-mile record and covered nearly 2,500 miles in 24 hours at more than 101 mph including stops. The record car was a sedan, not this Phaeton, but it demonstrated what the same supercharged 812 architecture could endure just as Cord production was ending.
Source: Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum · 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged ↗The dashboard made advanced controls visible
The Cord's engine-turned instrument panel gathered aircraft-inspired round dials into a bright metal field, while the tiny preselector lever chose the next gear before the clutch completed the shift. An identity-matched surviving Phaeton retains an original 150 mph speedometer—an optimistic scale, but one that makes the supercharged car's grand-touring intent unmistakable. The dashboard also carried the hand cranks that raised the concealed headlamps, so several of the 812's most unusual systems were controlled directly in front of the driver.
Source: RM Sotheby's · 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton, Auburn Fall 2021 ↗Where these facts come from
- RM Sotheby's · 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton
- Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum · 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton
- American Heritage Museum · 1937 Cord Model 812 Phaeton
- Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum · 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged
- RM Sotheby's · 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton, Auburn Fall 2021
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed October 3, 2026.