Within just a few years of E.L. Cord gaining control of Auburn, he built the brand into a major player in the American automotive market. The remarkable Boattail Speedster offered here is one of just 55 “Big 8” examples built as Auburn’s 1928 and 1929 flagship model, featuring the larger 298 cid Lycoming straight-eight engine. A mere seven of these are known to survive today.

According to the consignor, this stunning 1929 8-120 Boattail Speedster was purchased new by famed boxer and larger-than-life character Johnny Risko. An athlete of considerable stamina and talent, he became a local hero in Cleveland, Ohio, both as an amateur, and later as a professional, with 61 knockouts to his credit. A fan of the Auburn brand and the Speedster’s exciting design, he bought this car from his local Cleveland Auburn dealer as a replacement for the 1928 Auburn Boattail he and his girlfriend had crashed – an incident they narrowly survived. He was so thrilled with the 1929 Big 8 that he kept it until his untimely passing in 1953, at the age of 50. In 1956, Harvey Mace of nearby Lodi purchased the Speedster from Mr. Risko’s companion, and before long, stored it in a barn on his rural property. In the early 2000s, the current owner met Mr. Mace to purchase another classic car from him, and while there on the property, he noticed what appeared to be a big roadster hidden behind stacks of boxes.

In 2016, the consignor had the opportunity to return to Mr. Mace’s barn and acquire the Auburn, which had been sequestered for decades. Finally able to get a good look at the car, he was thrilled to discover that it was one of the few remaining Big 8 high-horsepower Speedsters. He promptly retained his longtime friend Doug Pray of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg (ACD) Company in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma – which maintains the remaining inventory of NOS parts from the original Indiana-based ACD Company – to perform the restoration. With missing parts provided by or sourced through the ACD Company, and the discovery of the intact Auburn radiator shell behind the aftermarket grille that Mr. Risko had installed, the restoration became a comparatively easy task.

Resplendent in a color pattern found in period brochures, the body sides and fenders are monochromatic in royal blue, while the contrasting silver – accenting only the tail section, door tops, and a sweep on the upper hood panels – encircles the light gray leather interior. This configuration allows for consistency of tone with an exciting accent. The burgundy wire wheels and the deeply raked V-shaped windshield further add to the mystique of the early Auburn Speedster. Rare as can be, hidden for decades, and never offered for public sale, the “Boxer’s Speedster” is rife with fascinating history, performance, and style.