Model J

Duesenberg J Murphy Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe
J-401

"It is a little-known fact that at the onset of World War II, Pratt and Whitney needed an engine to spin up the supercharger for the R-2800 aircraft engine – the largest and most powerful of its kind at the time, producing 2,000 brake horsepower from nearly 46 liters of displacement and 18 cylinders. The engine was so successful that it ultimately powered a large number of fighters and fighter-bombers, including the P-47, the F6F Hellcat, the F4U Corsair and also the B-26 and A-26 twin engine medium duty bombers.

The problem was that to test and develop the engines, a method of turning the supercharger when it was separated from the power unit was needed. At the time, no electric motors capable of generating enough power were available, and the Duesenberg was the only reliable automotive engine capable of doing so. As a result, Pratt & Whitney contracted with Inskip Inc. of New York to locate and purchase four Duesenbergs to be used in this testing program. Within a month they had done so, and they were J573, a Rollston convertible Victoria (with a twin carbureted supercharger!), J472, a five passenger sedan by La Grande, J401, a Castagna-bodied convertible sedan, and finally, the example offered here, J327, a Murphy Convertible Coupe." - RM Sothebys