Carrying a price tag of £3,750 for the chassis alone, the model J Duesenberg was one of the most powerful and expensive cars of the early 30's.
The car was regarded by many as the ultimate status symbol and was constructed from the finest materials available at the time.

The Duesenberg Model J is an American automobile built between 1928 and 1937 in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the first model that Duesenberg produced after the acquisition of Auburn Automobiles owner EL Cord. In total 470 of this large luxury car were built. The car had a 7 liter engine that delivered 265hp. The car was also available as a supercharged model that delivered 30hp more and had Model SJ as its designation.

The (Y4-4) 1930 Duesenberg Model J Town Car joined the Models of Yesteryear range in 1976. Although the first colour scheme was released in error in very limited numbers it was actually a pre production model which has gone on to become one of the most desirable variations of all of the models of Yesteryear. (Scarce Matchbox Models of Yesteryear sells for £1,000 at Aston's)

Variations/Rarities: The early versions of the metallic red Dusenberg did not have Y4 cast into the bumper brackets but all of them had the rear window widened to 8mm. Very soon the bumper brackets had 'Y4' molded in and for some reason the hollow horn trumpets were altered to make them solid which only appeared on this colour variation as they reverted back to the hollow type horns on all of the later issues. The model usually had black plastic seats and roof but one issue was released with the components molded in maroon plastic. The wheels were chrome 24 spoke but one issue can be found with chrome 12 spoke wheels.
The version without Y4 molded into the bumper brackets is quite hard to find and the version with maroon seats and roof is rare.

The two tone green model was issued in 1979 and it was fitted with solid chrome disc wheels. The first version is quite hard to find as it has the rear panel painted in the same light green gloss as the sides are painted in. Later issues had a metallic green rear panel. The green Duesenberg can be found with either green or occasionally with black plastic seats and roof.

In 1983 a Duesenberg was released that was painted an authentic looking dark brown gloss with cream gloss sidepanels. It could have either a "©1975 Lesney" or a "©1975 Matchbox" baseplate inscription and it had either a cream, beige or reddish-brown roof. The seats were either cream or beige and it can have chrome plated 24 spoke or chrome plated solid disc type wheels.

Lesney really caught the spirit of the 30's with the silver & blue Duesenberg. In 1985 it was made in England and then in 1988 production moved to Macau and the baseplate was changed to Macau.

The two tone blue Duesenberg was made in Macau in 1989. Early examples were sold as part of the "Great Motor Cars of the Century" collection which can easily be identified because they don't have a screw hole in the baseplate and they were packaged in a white box. The later issues all had screw holes in the baseplate and apart from having a light brown or a light green steering wheel there are no variations. The model was enhanced by simply highlighting the body lines with silver trim. The tail lights were picked out in red and the trunk straps in black while the latches and the door handles were silver trimmed.

Many variants of the Y4 Duesenberg model have no degree of rarity and are commonly available on the market but if you happen to come across a red model with a chestnut hood, know that it is VERY RARE. Duesenberg is really rich in variants, so a detailed description is not possible here.

In 1991 production was moved to China so the baseplate had to be modified again. The various different countries models were made to the same specifications although there were variations in shade and the chinese model had the newer push fit axles and wheels.

In 1994 the powder blue bodied model was re-run as part of the "Grand Classics Collection".

Chinese-six: In 1991 a short run of the Duesenburg in silver (Issue 34) was made at the new factory in China as one of the "Chinese six".

The real 1930s Duesenberg Model "J" : The German immigrant brothers Duesenberg began building cars in the early 20th century and soon achieved significant sporting success. The culmination of their work was the J model introduced in 1928 and later the supercharged SJ model. Various types of bodywork were mounted on the chassis, typical were torpedoes or phaetones. The eight-cylinder engine with a capacity of almost 7 liters enabled this two-and-a-half-tonne giant with a three-speed transmission to run at speeds of over 200 km / h. Less than 500 S and SJ models have been produced and are still ranked among the most attractive cars of all time. Some Hollywood stars were also proud owners of them, such as Garry Cooper, Clark Gable or Greta Garbo.

Scale: 1:43

Glossy dark red body & chassis; black hood

Light green body & chassis; solid chrome disc wheels; black seats and hood

Dark brown body & chassis, dark cream side panels, beige hood

Metallic silver body, royal blue chassis; blue 24 spoke wheels; whitewall tyres

Powder blue body, dark blue chassis; chrome 24 spoke wheels; thick whitewall tyres

A - light green rear panel; B - rear panel painted in the same lime green gloss as the sides

Passenger ceiling type A

Hollow or solid air-horns

Y4 moulded on bumper

Matchbox Collectibles YY004/C; 1930 Duesenberg Model J Town Car