Duesenberg Coupé Simone - Once upon a time ... and is now coming true

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone - Once upon a time ... and is now coming true

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Created in 2023

Text:

Wolfram Hamann

Photos:

Raffi Minasian

16

Iconic Rod and Custom

6

Wolfram Hamann

3

Jim Postelos

1

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - 1:5 scale model

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The starting point for this article: the 1:24 scale model by Franklin Mint

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The starting point for this article: the 1:24 scale model by Franklin Mint

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - Peacefully united as models: fictitious Coupé Simone in front of a Talbot-Lago T 150 C SS Coupé and a Delahaye Type 135 M Cabriolet, both from 1937

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The second edition of the Franklin Mint model from 2008 as a so-called "Midnight Ghost"

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The presentation model made of GRP from 1998

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The presentation model made of GRP from 1998

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The presentation model made of GRP from 1998

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The presentation model made of GRP from 1998

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - brochure in the Art Deco style

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - photomontage of an allegedly historical photograph

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - Design drawings by "Emmett B. Hardnock" and "Armand Minasian", which are by no means as old as they pretend to be

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - illustrations by the fictitious coachbuilder Emmett-Armant, backdated to 1938

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - Drawing by "Armand Minasian"

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - Alleged letter from the forwarder who was to ship the car to Europe

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - Alleged letter from Gui LaRouche's secretary regarding payment arrangements to the Emmett-Armand company

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - Emblem of the invented Emmett-Armand company

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - Raffi Minasian (left) and Roger Hardnock present the alleged treasure chest

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The alleged treasure chest in which the documents were found

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The contents of the alleged treasure chest: Drawings, brochures, correspondence

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - 3D model of the bodywork

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - the finished body skeleton in the yard of Iconic Rod and Custom

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - the finished body skeleton in the yard of Iconic Rod and Custom

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - The body skeleton at Iconic Rod and Custom

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - the skeleton is planked with sheet metal

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Duesenberg Coupé Simone (1939) - the skeleton is planked with sheet metal

Summary

What came first: the car or its genesis? In the case of the Duesenberg Simone, it took 25 years for the romantic cast zinc vision of a lost prototype from the 1930s to become a real vehicle. This article tells the story of what is probably the only car built in three years at the same time.

This article contains the following chapters

The tale of Uncle Franklin
Thinking back to think ahead
Old form on new technology

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Monica, the sports sedan with a Chrysler V8, is well known. Xenia, the eccentric Dubonnet concept car based on a 1938 Hispano Suiza H 6 B, may also be familiar; possibly even the angular Karin from Citroën. But Simone? Admittedly: The author had never heard this female first name for a car before. Initially, there was only a picture of a model car painted predominantly purple and silver on a scale of 1:24, which aroused my curiosity. It was supposed to be a replica of the so-called Duesenberg Coupé Simone from 1939. It is somewhat similar to the creations of Figoni & Falaschi and is also reminiscent of the Phantom Corsair, an Art Deco car with fully clad wheels, which was created in 1937 on the initiative of Rust Heinz, grandson of the "ketchup dynasty" of the same name. This car was exhibited at the New York World's Fair in 1939 and was actually intended for series production. However, this did not happen because Heinz had an accident. So it remained with the one copy.

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