RM Auctions to offer up Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg trio at Auburn auction

AUBURN, Indiana (27 July 2018) – RM Auctions is gearing up to continue the annual Labor Day weekend tradition at the Auburn Auction Park and has announced a diverse list of featured American highlights for Auburn Fall, August 30 to September 2. Led by a significant Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg trio offered without reserve from the Richard L. Burdick Collection and fit for the concurrent ACD Festival celebrations, several private collections of American automobiles through the ages are set to feature at Auburn Fall.

The late Richard L. Burdick was an engineer, successful businessman, and philanthropist who shared the hobby’s passion for classic cars. In 1982, he founded the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History in Rosansky, Texas, a non-profit educational foundation which houses over 80 vintage automobiles, followed by the opening of Dick’s Classic Garage in San Marcos, Texas in 2009. Dick’s Classic Garage and the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History will become the Richard L. Burdick Foundation in 2019, with the mission of providing financial assistance to charities and investing in tomorrow’s leaders through the promotion of character-based education.

The RM Sotheby’s Group (RM Sotheby’s and RM Auctions) will offer the fascinating automobiles from the Museum entirely without reserve across numerous events through 2019, debuting at Auburn Fall with a selection of 19 vehicles suited to the annual event in the Classic Car Capital of America. The group is led by an ACD trio including:

An authentic example of one of the great Jazz-age sports cars and the famous ‘boattail’, a 1929 Auburn 120 Eight Speedster, serial no. 2950509. One of just two dozen surviving authentic first-generation speedsters and built on the most desirable 120 chassis, the Auburn sports an attractive older restoration and is ACD Club Certified as a Category 1 Original Car (Est. $150,000 - $200,000, offered without reserve);
An extremely original 1930 Cord L-29 Cabriolet, serial no. 2928096, a fantastic example of the most desirable factory body style. A long-term member of the Burdick Collection, the Cord appears to have never received a full restoration, retains its original engine, chassis, and body, and shows just 65,000 miles (Est. $130,000 - $160,000, offered without reserve); and,
Rounding out the group is a 1929 Duesenberg Model J Sedan with coachwork by Derham/Bohman & Schwartz, engine no. J-118,one of the earliest examples of the model delivered. Retaining its original chassis, engine, and period-restyled body by renowned Pasadena coachbuilders Bohman & Schwartz, the Duesenberg spent time in the well-known collections of Art Austria, Homer Fitterling, and Ed Weaver before landing with the Burdick Collection more than a decade ago. Having seldom appeared outside of the museum, Auburn Fall marks a great opportunity for a discerning collector to acquire a streamlined Duesenberg sedan of unusual and striking beauty and give it new life (Est. $750,000 - $950,000, offered without reserve).

LEFT: The 1958 Buick "Wells Fargo" Convertible offered from the Duffy Grove Collection at Auburn Fall (Credit – © 2018 Courtesy of RM Auctions)RIGHT: The Buick “Wells Fargo” Convertible at the 1958 Chicago Auto Show (Credit – Courtesy of the owner)

RM Auctions will also present an additional 14 motor cars from the Duffy Grove Collection at Auburn Fall, led by a 1958 Buick "Wells Fargo" Convertible, a one-off factory show car built for Dale Robertson, star of the television western, Tales of Wells Fargo, for which Buick was a title sponsor. Featuring unique solid walnut and chrome body trim, natural Danish calfskin and hand-tooled leather interior, and chrome-plated custom Winchester lever-action rifles (non-functional) fit for the cowboy star, the car was featured at major auto shows across the U.S. before being gifted to Robertson. He drove the car on a promotional tour across the country and retained it for the next 30 years. A wonderful piece of General Motors history, the “Wells Fargo” Buick Limited is among the most significant 1950s GM convertibles offered in decades (Est. $275,000 - $350,000).

RM Auctions will present automobiles from the Calumet Collection across several events in 2018 and 2019, beginning with Auburn Fall. A group of 13 eclectic vehicles will cross the auction block entirely without reserve at the Labor Day weekend sale, featuring a fantastic selection of American cars from the 1950s and 60s and complemented by an immaculate 1913 Maxwell Model 25 Touring through to a 1999 Presidential-style Cadillac Deville State Limousine for the novelty enthusiast.

Adding to the historic American vehicles on offer at Auburn Fall is The Shrine of the Holy Grille Collection, comprising 31 vehicles offered from Carolyn and the late Jim Popp. Jim Popp had an affinity for Edsels from the time he purchased his first example new in 1960, going on to amass some of the finest examples of the marque. The Collection offered entirely without reserve at Auburn Fall is focused entirely on Ford Motor Company products, with the core being the full gamut of Edsel models as well as several Lincolns showing little more than delivery mileage, including a 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V in as-new condition with a mere 26 actual miles.

Additional private collections offered across the Auburn Fall weekend include impressive groups of Corvettes, Austin-Healeys, and sought-after American muscle cars.RM Auctions' 2018 Auburn Fall sale, the 48th annual event, will present approximately 700 quality collector cars and an assortment of automobilia during a four-day sale, ranging from American classics to European sports cars, Detroit muscle, hot rods, customs, and modern collectibles. Beyond the auction action, Auburn Fall offers fun for the entire family, with onsite RV camping, a swap meet, car corral, Monster Energy Freestyle Motocross shows, an appearance and autograph session by Cristy Lee, car enthusiast, biker, model, and star of Velocity’s All Girls Garage, and more.

For additional Auburn Fall event information, an updated list of all entries for the sale, and to register to bid, please visit rmsothebys.com. Advanced Auburn Fall tickets can also be purchased via the website. To speak with an RM Auctions car specialist about remaining consignment opportunities, please call +1 519 352 4575.

About RM Sotheby’s Group

The RM Sotheby’s Group is the world's largest auction house for investment-quality automobiles. With more than 35 years’ experience in the collector car industry, RM’s vertically integrated range of services, from private sales and auctions (including both RM Sotheby’s and RM Auctions events) to estate planning and financial services, coupled with an expert team of car specialists and an international footprint, provide an unsurpassed level of service to the global collector car market. RM Sotheby’s is currently responsible for six of the top ten most valuable motor cars ever sold at auction. In February 2015, RM formed a strategic partnership with Sotheby’s, uniting the two companies for the full calendar of future automobile auctions. For further information, visit rmsothebys.com.