Mardi Rouge

Ruby Tuesday
(a.k.a. Red Car Day at Chez la Vache!)
1937 Cord 812 Sportsman Supercharged Convertible

This 1937 Cord 812 Sportsman Supercharged Convertible was sold at the RM Monterey Auction for $310,750.
• Model 812SC
• 170 bhp, 288.6 cu in supercharged L-head Lycoming V-8 engine with four-speed preselector transmission, independent front suspension with trailing arms and transverse leaf spring, tubular beam rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.
• Wheelbase: 125"

The Cord automobiles were one of several automobile makes produced by the Cord Corporation in the 1920s - 1930s. The company was founded by Errett Lobban "E. L." Cord (20 July 1894 – 2 January 1974). Cord was a leader in United States transport during the first third of the 20th century.

E.L. Cord on the cover of Time, 1932.
Cord founded the Cord Corporation in 1929 as a holding company for over 150 companies he controlled, mostly in the field of transportation. The corporation controlled three car builders: the Auburn Automobile Company, which also built the namesake Cord Automobile and Duesenberg. Cord also controlled Checker Cab, which at the time built its own cars. He owned Stinson Aircraft Company and American Airways (later American Airlines). His Lycoming Engine company supplied engines for the Cord and Auburn automobiles. The Aircraft Development Division, another Cord holding, was instrumental in the development of the Vultee V-1 Airliner which spawned a series of airliners and military aircraft from the Vultee Aircraft Division.

Born in Warrensburg, Missouri, Cord had been a race car driver, mechanic and car salesman before he was offered the opportunity to manage the dying Auburn Automobile Company in 1924. By 1928 he controlled Auburn, which by 1931 was the 13th largest seller of autos in the United States. In 1937 he sold the Cord Corporation and retired to Los Angeles where he earned millions in real estate. Cord owned several of the first radio and television stations in California and later Nevada, where he moved in the 1940s. In the call letters of his Los Angeles radio station, KFAC, the A.C. stands for Auburn Cord.

During the 1940s he filled in for a Nevada state legislator who died in the middle of his term and again rose to fame as a politician in his later life. In 1958 he was asked to run for governor of Nevada, but he refused. He died in Reno, Nevada from cancer in 1974, aged 79.

The automobiles produced by Cord's auto operations were on the cutting edge of styling and technology as evidenced by the 1937 Cord 812 Sportsman.

The Cord's sleek body without running boards pointed the way to the

envelope bodies introduced by the post-war Studebaker and later

used by every manufacturer.

In 1929, E.L. Cord introduced the mighty Duesenberg Model J, advertised as “The World’s Finest Motorcar.” But he also showcased a new car, a test-bed for radically new automotive innovations, much like Preston Tucker would do 20 years later. This was the Cord L-29, the first front-wheel-drive car sold to the American public. Its long, low, sleek appearance was popular for its styling and superb handling, but it was only a start. The introduction of the front drive L-29 sent Packard engineers scrambling to build a front drive V-12. Packard got as far with the project as a test bed prototype, but killed the project.

The preselector transmission was a precursor to automatic transmissions.

This configuration very likely influenced Packard engineers with the

pushbutton Twin Ultramatic Drive for 1956.

For four years,Cord collaborated with his engineers and designers, including Duesenberg styling genius Gordon Buehrig to develop the next step after the Cord L-29. Working with Buehrig was Vince Gardner, who did the fine re-style for Studebaker's 1956 models.

Gordon Buehrig had worked at Packard before designing the Cord 810/812.

He also did the Auburn Speedster and the Duesenberg Model J. Later, he joined Ford, where he designed the Lincoln Continental Mark II. After leaving Ford, he taught styling at the famed Art Center School of Design in Pasadena, California.

Vince Gardner, who worked with Gordon Buehrig on the Cord 810/812,

styled the 1956 Studebaker President.

Gordon Buehrig styled the 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II

Features for the new Cord included a preselector transmission (a precursor to automatic transmissions and later used in the Tucker), hidden fuel-filler door, independent front suspension, no running boards, pontoon fenders, disappearing headlights, radio, variable-speed windshield wipers, and a wrap-around chrome grill.  The result was the Cord 810, the most trend-setting American car in history. Many of its design innovations would not become standard on other makes for decades. Introduced in late-1935 at the New York Auto Show, the 810 created a sensation. Crowds around it were so deep that people were forced to stand on other display cars just to get a glimpse. Deliveries began in 1936, but the Depression caught up to the Cord empire, and 1937 was to be the final model year. During this time, the cars (now designated Model 812) were available for the first and only time with an optional supercharger, which boosted power to almost 200 hp. The supercharged cars could also be fitted with magnificent outside exhaust pipes, giving the car its most iconic look. At the height of the Depression, sadly, few could afford this luxury.

The Cord's outside exhaust pipes became an enduring

symbol for power on American cars.
In the background, you see a 1935 Packard Twelve.

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