1933 Auburn 12-161A Speedster - Images, Specifications and Information

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Errett Lobban (E.L.) Cord dropped out of school at age 15 and took a job as a car salesman, retrospectively much to the appreciation of many car enthusiasts around the world. He proceeded to become a very successful salesman, sure to point out the intimate details of every automobile he could sell. His next job, at a service station in Los Angeles included mechanical work that led to him tinkering with his own Model T's, creating stylish bodies, and modified engines. He jumped back into sales in Chicago shortly after and then his own car distributor company in Milwaukee. His ambition seemed endless as he began searching for a manufacturing company to buy in 1924.

Meanwhile, the Auburn Automobile Company was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Chicago-based venture capitalists currently in control offered Cord a top management position. He quickly replied with a counter-offer: complete control, 20% of profits, and an option to buy the company once it recovered. In their unfavourable economic status, the partners had no choice but to agree.

E.L.'s subsequent unusual marketing tactics made him a fortune leading to his purchase of Duesenberg, a New York shipyard, cab companies, and an aircraft company. His swift success in the transportation business and the stock market at such a young age wasn't left unnoticed, and in turn appreciated by some of the old hands in the money pot. His ingenious financial scheming shone bright in 1932 when he bought a controlling amount of Aviation Corp. stock shortly after they used size and power to buy out his airline company. This put him in control of what became American Airways (now American Airlines). He seemed to have lost his edge in the mid 1930s however. Of course he was not helped by the great depression either, but his efforts to combat it did more bad than good.

Auburn was one of E.L.'s eleven companies and had proven to be quite profitable in the late 1920s. Keeping up with the new V-configuration engine trend, Cord decided to offer an Auburn V12 in 1932. Technically this 12-160A was very interesting, but it was the ridiculously low price of $975 that grabbed people's attention. To this day it' is the cheapest V12 ever offered in an American car and at the time even a Dodge eight cylinder was more expensive. In fact the price was so low that potential customers assumed the build quality was not up to Auburn standards. Instead of attracting more buyers, Cord's scheme had backfired and to add insult to injury he ended the year with a loss of close to 1 million dollars.

The detail that was most often overlooked at the time was that the 12-160A was a very advanced vehicle that offered great acceleration times and comfortable high speed cruising thanks to the ingenious 'Dual Ratio' differential. Operated by a lever on the dashboard, the system offered a low and high ratio for each of the three gears, 4.5 and 3.0 respectively. This improved fuel and oil consumption, therefore decreasing the strain on the Lycoming engine. Displacing just under 6.5 litres this V12 unit produced a hefty 160 bhp and plenty of low-end torque to move a 2 ton machine. A variety of bodies were available from the factory of which the Speedster was the most exclusive.

The low price convinced some to buy the new Auburns in 1932, but by 1933 the production had collapsed by 85% from previous years. In the meantime Cord had run into problems with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which forced him to take off to England. In his absence Harold Ames tried to bring Auburn back to its former glory and one of the first victims was the twelve cylinder model that had been re-baptized as the 12-161A for 1933. Although the result of Ames work, the 851, is the most famous of all Auburn models it was not enough to save the company from a second bankruptcy in twelve years. This time it really was the end.

Pictured is one of the last V12 engined Auburns produced, equipped with the most exclusive 'Speedster' body. This example was owned for many years by a farmer in up-state New York, who had acquired a number of classic cars as an investment. In 1998 he cashed in on his investment and sold the Auburn the current owner. It was in a very poor condition and had to be removed from an old school bus that had been its home for many years. The restoration by RM took nearly two years and in 2007 the proud owner entered his 12-161A in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where Auburn was the featured marque. It was awarded second in class.