August Samuel Duesenberg | |
|---|---|
.jpg) August Duesenberg in 1925 | |
| Born | August Samuel Düsenberg December 12, 1879[1] |
| Died | January 18, 1955 (aged 75)[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Early automobile manufacturer and racer |
| Known for | Duesenberg automobile |
| Awards | Motorsports Hall of Fame |
August Samuel Duesenberg (December 12, 1879 – January 18, 1955) was a German-born American automobile and engine manufacturer who built American racing and racing engines that set speed records at Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1920; won the French Grand Prix in 1921; and won Indianapolis 500-mile races (1922, 1924, 1925, and 1927), as well as setting one-hour and 24-hour speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 1935. He also shared with his older brother, Frederick S. "Fred" Duesenberg, patents filed in 1913 and renewed in 1918 for a four-cylinder engine design and the Duesenberg Straight 8 (an eight-cylinder engine with a single, overhead camshaft).
In 1913 the brothers founded the Duesenberg Motor Company, Incorporated, which was subsequently sold, and in 1920 joined with other financial investors to establish the Duesenberg Automobiles and Motor Company, which manufactured passenger cars in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1921 until 1937. Augie Duesenberg initially worked as the plant manager, while Fred Duesenberg was the chief design engineer and later in the 1920s served as the company's president. The Duesenberg Model A, the brothers' first, mass-produced vehicle was manufactured between 1921 and 1927. Although the Model A was technologically advanced, it proved to be unpopular with car buyers because of its high cost and unstylish exterior. Following Errett L. Cord's acquisition of the Duesenberg company in 1926, Augie Duesenberg focused on the Duesenberg Brothers, a separate racing business established in August 1920, and was not involved in the Indianapolis-based automaker's production of luxury passenger cars.