Many of the Duesenbergs sold in Europe passed through Edmond Z. Sadovich’s Motor de Luxe business in Paris, and he is recorded as having sold 14 in the few months after the 1931 Salon de l’Automobile. One of a modest number of cars to have been bodied by European coachbuilders, this Duesenberg, chassis 2465, was supplied to Carrosserie Franay in 1931 and emerged wearing the striking compact convertible bodywork it retains to this day.

From day one, this car has been a show car; it made its debut at Le 10ème Salon Animé de la Carrosserie et de l’Élégance Féminine Automobile in the Parc des Princes on June 19, 1931, shown by its coachbuilder. A week later, it was displayed at Le Concours d’Élégance Féminine Automobile in the Bois de Boulogne, where its presenter was Jacqueline Lebaudy-Sudreau, the somewhat infamous daughter of Jacques Lebaudy, whose wife had shot him dead in 1919. Jacqueline appears to have modeled/displayed cars with M. Sadovich and was seen with him a year earlier in the Saoutchik Duesenberg, a car that he sold to E. Virgil Neal.

A few months later, and now with some added pizzazz of Cromos bumpers and chromed wheel covers, the car was displayed on M. Sadovich’s stand at the Salon de l’Automobile in the Grand Palais in Paris. The magazine L’Auto Carrosserie would comment:

“Here is another car that does honor to our corporation and its creator Franay. Sparkling chrome covers the windshield column, the elongated window frames and the top of the (spare) wheel covers.”

Details included “pressed front fenders, in the same tone as the body, that is to say in pearl gray; small boxes in the sills, rubber and chrome strips on the running boards. Pretty rear trunk covered and tightened with leather straps.” The article further noted the “impeccable finish of the interior, trimmed in pink beige leather, with enameled friezes of the same color bordering the doors.”

During the show, a “Vendue” sign was posted on the windshield and not surprisingly, given its stunning presentation, the car found a new home with one of the showgoers.

It has always been written that the original owner was Queen Maria of Yugoslavia, who was noted for her interest in driving, when women, particularly of royalty, were far less likely to have sat behind the wheel. In his article in the Summer 1996 issue of Automotive History Review, Fred Roe noted that she used the car, rather than owned it, yet in J.L. Elbert’s book it is quoted that Queen Maria had ordered her lady of honor to express her entire satisfaction with the “absolute security” of her Duesenberg at high speed, its “grand comfort, remarkable suppleness, and supreme elegance.” Either way, at the beginning of its life she was unquestionably associated with the car, albeit briefly, for it was not long before the enterprising M. Sadovich had sold the car to a couple of his best clients, the Chopitea brothers. Gustavo and Antonio Chopitea hailed from Lima, Peru, and were typically well-heeled individuals, the like of which perpetuated Duesenberg’s business throughout. The Chopitea fortune came from sugar refining and was considerable. It afforded Gustavo and Antonio a certain playboy lifestyle with all the trappings of wealth – from homes in the US and France to a stable of cars. This particular car is said to have belonged to Antonio.

Numerous photographs of the salon and concours survive showing the Duesenberg as delivered, and later of it sporting the pontoon fenders that it wears today. Historically, it has been suggested that these arrived on the car much later, perhaps once in America; however, if one compares this style of fender with other contemporaneous French-bodied cars, not least Mr. Chopitea’s famous Figoni “French Speedster,” and the Hibbard & Darrin Stutz DV-32, the similarity is very striking. Throw into the mix that M. Sadovich had started his business in the back of Hibbard & Darrin’s showroom on Rue de Berri, and that Mr. Chopitea owned this Franay car in the same period as the Figoni speedster, and it seems much more likely that these parabolic fenders date from early in its existence in Paris; one can well imagine a dialogue between salesman and client to encourage matching the fenders of the Franay car to the Figoni.

From Mr. Chopitea it is believed that the car passed to a Parisian brewer, and then is known to have been acquired by L.W. Gilbert of New York, who brought the Duesenberg to the US. Another New York ownership followed, recorded as Miss E. Ramirez. Reuel Warriner is recorded as its owner in Maryland in 1941, keeping it for 30 years and using it regularly, after which its trajectory of ownership is cited as W.E. Howell of Oklahoma, where this car was part of the Preservation Hall Collection, then Mr. Schreiber of New Jersey (believed to be Arthur Schreiber of Freehold, New Jersey), and then Earl Clarke, the famed owner of the Dutch Wonderland Auction of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Noted collector Charles Goodman purchased the Franay Duesenberg in 1977 and retained it for 18 years. On fresh ownership, the car was restored from a maroon hue to the black that we see today. Its interior was redone by Maestas Leatherworks of Santa Clarita, California, in red leather, and a Lalique Chrysis hood ornament was added to its looks.

At the completion of its refurbishment, it returned to the show circuit, with its first outing at the 1996 Louis Vuitton Classic in New York City at Rockefeller Center, where it won the Pre-War Touring Class, while concours in the summer of 1997 provided it with a First in Class at the CCCA Annual Experience at Hickory Corners, Michigan, and the Meadow Brook Memorial Trophy at Meadow Brook Hall.

After a series of events, the car was sold publicly in 2002 by Christie’s at a Rockefeller Center auction, passing to its current owner. It continued to be shown by the consignor, with participation at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in 2005, where it took 2nd Diploma, or Second in Class. Since that time, the car has remained in this enthusiastic ownership, where it has routinely been shown and driven.

This 1931 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan retains its original engine (J-446) and firewall, but most importantly, it still carries its unique Franay coachwork with its subtle yet intricate details. Fresh from a service by Straight Eight of Troy, Michigan, the Duesenberg could continue to be used as it is; or perhaps its next adventure might be to return it to its original pearl gray paintwork and rose beige interior, in which guise it would surely be a showstopper once again.

*Please note that this vehicle is registered as J4462465.