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A custom 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe once owned, designed, and driven by actor Clark Gable is heading to auction with an estimated price tag of between 5 and 7 million euros, according to RM Sotheby’s. The vehicle, featuring engine number J 560, is slated to cross the block on August 13 during the Monterey auction, listed as part of a 22-lot collection from collectors Sam and Emily Mann.
Clark Gable’s Custom Design Process
According to 20minutos, Gable did not settle for a factory-standard design when purchasing the luxury automobile. The actor collaborated closely with designer W. Everett Miller and coachbuilders Rollston and Bohman & Schwartz to modify one of only four convertible bodies built on Duesenberg’s JN chassis, which featured a distinctive two-passenger rumble seat in the rear.
Gable worked from preliminary sketches to customize the proportions. Bohman & Schwartz extended the hoodline in the style of Packard models, installed louvered vents inspired by contemporary biplane aircraft, and raked the windshield at a steeper angle to accommodate a lowered soft top. The bodywork, radiator grille, fender skirts, and rear-mounted dual spare tires were painted in a cohesive, unified color scheme.
Hollywood Romance and Film Cameo
The Duesenberg became closely linked to Gable’s personal life, serving as a primary vehicle during his romance with actress Carole Lombard, according to the source material. The couple frequently drove the car along the California coast and took trips to Vancouver. The vehicle also made a cinematic appearance, being temporarily repainted with a water-soluble dark paint to star in the 1938 film Merrily We Live.
Following Lombard’s death in a 1942 airplane crash in Nevada, Gable found the memories associated with the automobile too painful and instructed his attorney, David Jordan, to sell the vehicle outside of California. Over the subsequent decades, the car passed through a succession of owners across New Mexico, Indiana, and Illinois, including wrestler Robert Hans Hermann, before achieving a then-record price of 4,500 dólares for a used Duesenberg in 1951.
Collectors Sam and Emily Mann acquired the automobile in 2005 and commissioned a complete restoration by Stone Barn in New Jersey to return it to its precise 1935 specifications. The restored vehicle debuted at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it secured the Gwenn Graham Trophy for the most elegant convertible, followed by additional awards at Meadowbrook and Amelia Island in 2008.
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