The duPont Model G Speedster
In 1928 something changed in company policy. A totally new look, brainstormed by E. Paul and his sales manager, William A. Smith, was penned out on paper by designer G. Briggs Weaver and assigned to the Model G, a new car that would have 16 different choices of automobile using 12 different body styles. With caution to the wind, this array included two Speedsters - a Model G two-passenger and a Model G four-passenger - the latter being offered because of strategic preparations for a 1929 race event. More on that in a moment.
Five duPont models in 1929. Image courtesy Antique Automobile magazine, v40 n5 1976
All Model Gs were propelled by a Continental Model K flathead inline-eight engine of 322 cubic inches that produced 125 horsepower.
1929 duPont Model G engine. Note the polished aluminum valve cover. Looks like an OHV, but in actuality the inline-8 engine had a flathead. Image courtesy Hagley Museum and Library
Continentals were a venerable go-to engine made for manufacturers that wanted something already developed. This fit the bill for duPont, whose engineering department nevertheless massaged the engine a bit, adding the finned aluminum valve cover for some bling!
Continental had a long history of supplying engines to independent auto manufacturers, as seen in this 1922 ad featured in the Dec 12, 1922 edition of Motor World mag. Image courtesy HCFI. org
Beginning in 1929, duPont would use the Conti inline-8 in its model lines. Ad image courtesy Stan Smith collection
Model Gs rode on a variety of wheelbases from 125 inches to 150. The two-passenger Speedster, for instance, employed the sporty 125 inch wheelbase chassis, probably not too different than this 124 inch example that was used with the four cylinder Model B from 1921-23.
1921-23 duPont 124 inch chassis. Image courtesy Hagley Museum and Library
Being only 50 or so miles away from Trenton and Mercer Motors, it was inevitable that Mercer ideas influenced the thoughts behind and/or the design of the sporty versions of the duPont Roadsters and Speedsters. After all, L.F. Hosley, duPont’s head engineer, and William A. Smith, sales manager, had both been recruited from Mercer. And both companies used Merrimac for some of their bodies.
A lot of carefully thought-out engineering went into duPonts. E. Paul himself was an inventor, and he was the first to introduce a true disappearing convertible top in Phaeton models. In addition, duPont attended to such unseen details as a flexible joint between leaf springs and shackles to quiet the spring movement over bumps. The paint itself, Duco quick-drying lacquer, was also a duPont innovation and an industry first.
What distinguished the Model G, and was especially evident in the neoclassic lines of the Speedster, was its tall engine cowl and rounded radiator grill, which was integrated with the radiator and painted body color. The body’s elegant design incorporated the latest in late-twenties European thought on aeronautical lines; the streamlining effect was just an infant science at this time.
Lines like those found on the DuPont Model G were gauged by an intuitive, artistic eye and not yet measured by slide rule algorithms. The duPont Speedsters captured that streamlined mojo and were painted in Duco Black or Bonsoir Grey, sometimes trimmed with red this or that. Simple lines evoked tasteful statements of truth and beauty.
1929 Model G two-passenger Speedster. Image courtesy Philadelphia Free Library
Like the Packard 734 Speedster, the 1928 duPont 4-passenger speedster was built on a narrow chassis and body. Its passenger compartment was split into a two-plus-two configuration. Again, elegant and understated.
1929 duPont Model G four-passenger Speedster. This version had an external trunk. Image courtesy Stan Smith collection
1929 duPont Model G LeMans Speedster. This example had a boat tail in the rear. Please refer to the catalog image at the end of the article for a better angle! Image courtesy Philadelphia Free Library
Somewhere between 135 and a little over 200 eight cylinder duPonts (Models G & H) would be constructed. Experts disagree, but smart money is with the 200+ number. Still, only 30 or so Model Gs are left, the scrap drives of WWII having taken their toll…
LeMans
Inevitably, it seems that just about every car manufacturer eventually enters their car in some sort of speed competition, and E. Paul happened to choose LeMans for 1929. Why select LeMans, a grueling 24 hour enduro lying across an ocean, as one’s first serious race, when there were plenty of challenging events close at hand all over the United States? Anybody’s guess…
This banner is displayed at the LeMans track. A modern reconfiguration of the course was implemented to slow the cars down and provide a better measure of safety, but the layout is essentially the same as in 1929. Image courtesy Wikipedia
And why pick a race in which seasoned veterans had already been duking it out year after year over matters of national pride? A race in which one particular car company had already won the event three times since 1924 and was now aiming for a four-ringer because it had figured the game out?
Well, E. Paul decided that LeMans it had to be, so he proceeded to construct two duPont Speedsters for the task. Due to rules at the time, the car had to provide seating for four passengers to qualify for the stock class, hence the 4-passenger configuration. Also, as heavy as the duPont was, it was still required to carry sand bags as additional ballast, a fatal (for the car) requirement.
Only one duPont Speedster would be ready by deadline, so only one entry was shipped. And, despite being a novice, the duPont acquitted itself very well, maintaining a 72 mph average that was good for second place overall in the initial stage of the race!
1929 duPont LeMans Speedster in the pits. Note the diameter of the gasoline funnel! Image courtesy Motor magazine.
The duPont is second from the left in this lineup for the LeMans start. The Motor
Racing being racing, this would not last, and after 3 hours, the sand bags shifted, broke through the floor, and damaged the driveshaft, putting an end to duPont’s day. This would be duPont’s one and only entry at Les 24 Heures du Mans at Le Circuit de la Sarthe…
Although this photo was taken at the 1928 LeMans, the winner was the same for 1929 - Bentley! The Motor
… and Bentley would go on to win the race once again, this year-1929 - being the fourth time for the fabled crew from Crewe. And, yes, the Bentley Boys would sock away yet another win in 1930, sadly their last victory at LeMans for a while, as the Great Depression was full on and Bentley had gone bankrupt. Oh well… that’s racing!
But Wait – There’s Indy!
Down but not out, E. Paul (or one of his supporters) decided that a run at Indianapolis would be a splendid idea, since the rules had been changed for 1930 to promote the entry of stock block engines up to six liters capacity plus requiring a driver and riding mechanic. A two-seat duPont racer was built for the 1930 event using a 1929 Model G chassis and the 5.3 liter Continental I-8 engine. Once again, mishappery struck, but at least no one was seriously hurt. The duPont entry, driven by Charles Moran, Jr, spun and crashed on the 22nd lap and was retired.
1930 duPont at Indianapolis. Image courtesy Hagley Museum and Library
Writing On The Wall
At some point in 1931 it became apparent that the clientele who fawned on special luxury cars such as duPonts had closed the gates to their estates and retreated to their drawing rooms to wait out the Great Depression. The luxury auto market dried up, and so too did duPont Motors. The company would cease production in January 1932, and a receiver was appointed in February 1933 to oversee company liquidation. In spite of this, duPonts would continue to be advertised for sale at select dealers for a period; there was still a demand, and only a few left in stock…
Even after the plant closed, there were still a few choice duPonts to be had at select dealers… image courtesy AACA library
E. Paul duPont would move on to Springfield and take the helm as President of Indian Motorcycle, as he owned a majority of its shares. E. Paul and his team of engineers that followed him from duPont Motor would rescue Indian from financial troubles and turn it into a healthy and profitable motorcycle manufacturer before the company was turned over to a new leader in 1945. E. Paul then retired to tinker in his home shop and passed away in 1950.
E. Paul duPont enjoyed a short but influential career as an independent auto manufacturer during a shakeout period in the automobile industry that witnessed the rise of the Big Three and the fall of hundreds of independents. A perpetual auto enthusiast and an early member of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), E. Paul had put duPont Motors on the map as a luxury automobile to be reckoned with and fathered two of the most elegant speedsters to have ever graced a concours lawn. And one of them, the Model G 4-passenger LeMans Speedster, even managed to show others the fastest way around the circuit, if only for a while, at the most prestigious racetrack in the world!
1929 duPont four-passenger Speedster. Dual cockpits, boat tail, a sunny day? Let’s go! Catalog image courtesy Stan Smith collection
One dedicated automotive historian has carried the torch for duPont since 1951. As a young boy of 11, Stan Smith Jr. would accompany his mother and father to AACA events in the family duPont, and Stan Jr. would eventually inherit his father’s 1929 duPont Model G two-passenger Speedster. Stan would go on to write a book about the Model G Speedsters and is currently engaged in a revision of his work. Cultural historians like Stan Smith keep alive the significant stories that inform automotive history in the United States; tales involving speedsterism are important threads in our cultural fabric. Many thanks to Stan for critiquing my episodes on duPont Speedsters.
Thanks to all of the libraries that have made available their collections for this article. Next episode we will revisit the theme of the short-lived independent automotive manufacturing company – there were so many of them! And only a handful made speedsters…
Be sure to share this post by clicking on a social media button at left.
And if you haven’t yet subscribed, use the red box at right to sign up. We use a two-part opt-in to sign up that protects your security.