Clark Gable
1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe · engine J-560 · firewall 2585
A verified photograph of this individual car is still needed.
Photo details
Joyride serves the current 548 × 808 Commons extracted JPEG byte-for-byte. Joyride applies no further crop, resize, retouching or generation; a responsive frame may crop displayed edges. This identification portrait remains separate from the Duesenberg photograph gap.
The Duesenberg Gable helped draw
- Connection
- Former owner · bespoke commission · not current ownership
- When
- Commissioned in 1935 · sold after Carole Lombard’s death in 1942
- Identity
- Individual 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston and Bohman & Schwartz · engine J-560 · firewall 2585
Clark Gable did more than order this individual Duesenberg. RM Sotheby’s identifies the 1935 Model JN Convertible Coupe by engine J-560 and firewall 2585, and records that Gable worked beside Bohman & Schwartz designer W. Everett Miller on the alterations he wanted. The coachbuilder extended the hood line, sharpened the windshield rake and added rear fender skirts and dual rear-mounted spares. Joyride treats that as a bespoke commission tied to one documented car, not as proof that every JN shared its specification.
The ownership chapter is historic and bounded. RM Sotheby’s says Gable used the Duesenberg extensively with Carole Lombard, then directed a trusted associate to sell it after Lombard’s death in 1942. The later record includes engine changes while retaining the J-560-numbered bell housing, multiple collectors and a restoration for Sam and Emily Mann that returned the car to its documented 1935 presentation. That restoration is part of the survivor’s story; it is not described as untouched factory condition.
RM Sotheby’s records a $9,080,000 sale at its 2026 Monterey auction. The public lot page does not name the buyer, so Joyride stops at the sale and makes no present-owner claim. The auction gallery and marque-history pages identify the exact car but do not grant a reusable photographic license. The story therefore keeps an explicit individual-car photo gap instead of substituting another Duesenberg or relying on a photograph of Gable’s separate SSJ.
Where the car went next
- 1935Gable commissions the JN
RM Sotheby’s records Gable ordering the Rollston-bodied car and collaborating with Bohman & Schwartz designer W. Everett Miller on its bespoke restyling.
- After January 1942Gable directs its sale
After Carole Lombard’s death, Gable instructed a trusted associate to sell the Duesenberg outside California. Joyride does not extend his ownership beyond that disposal.
- 2005–2007Mann restoration
Sam and Emily Mann acquired the car in 2005; Stone Barn restored it to its researched 1935 configuration before its 2007 Pebble Beach debut.
- August 2026$9.08 million Monterey sale
RM Sotheby’s reports the car sold for $9,080,000. The public record does not identify the buyer, so no current owner is named.
Sources for this story
RM Sotheby’s official lot record binds Gable’s former ownership and design involvement to engine J-560 and firewall 2585, documents the later mechanical and restoration history, and records the August 2026 sale. No current owner, complete JN-family coverage, untouched-original condition, exact Joyride catalog link, game compatibility or reusable actual-car photograph is claimed.
- 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston and Bohman & SchwartzRM Sotheby’s · The Monterey Auction 2026 · reviewed October 7, 2026 · external source
Engine J-560, firewall 2585, Gable’s commission and design involvement, 1942 disposal, later mechanical history, Mann restoration and $9,080,000 sale result.
- Clark Gable’s Duesenberg leads the Sam and Emily Mann CollectionRM Sotheby’s · May 13, 2026 · reviewed October 7, 2026 · external source
Independent auction announcement identifying the Gable commission, its one-of-four JN-series Rollston body, bespoke Bohman & Schwartz work and Mann stewardship before the sale.
Reviewed
Exact-car photo leads and rights status
- Photo identity evidence
RM Sotheby’s gallery identifies the exact J-560 / 2585 car, but the reviewed page supplies no open reuse license for its photographs.
- Photo identity evidence
The marque register identifies and illustrates chassis/firewall 2585 with engine J-560, but no reusable photographic license is stated.
These linked sources help identify the individual car, but reuse is not cleared. Joyride does not host or extract them; the chassis caveat in the story still applies.