260 | GOODWOOD REVIVAL SALE
One of the few automobiles deemed worthy of inclusion in the
Museum of Modern Art in New York and arguably the most easily
recognised American car of all time, the Cord 810 debuted in
November 1935, receiving a rapturous reception at US automobile
shows. The work of a team headed by Duesenberg designer
Gordon Buehrig, the 810 body style with louvred ‘coffin’ nose,
streamlined, spat-shaped wings and absence of running boards
would prove immensely influential, its distinctive features being
borrowed by most mainstream manufacturers by the decade’s end.
The 810’s arrival marked the end of a hiatus in Cord production, its
predecessor - the L29 - having disappeared in 1931. Errett Lobban
Cord had introduced the latter in 1929 as a gap-filling model priced
between his Cord Corporation’s Auburn and Duesenberg lines.
Powered by a Lycoming straight eight, the Cord L29 featured front
wheel drive, a chassis layout then in vogue at Indianapolis. Its
front-drive layout made for a low-slung frame, and the freedom this
gave coachbuilders meant that the Cord was soon attracting the
attention of master craftsmen on both sides of the Atlantic.
A front-wheel-drive car like the L29, the 810 differed from its
predecessor by virtue of its more compact Lycoming V8 engine and
four-speed, pre-selector gearbox. Set further back in the chassis,
the former endowed the 810 with better balance and came with
125bhp in standard trim or 170bhp when supercharged.The Cord was re-designated ‘812’ for 1937 when custom sedans
on a longer wheelbase joined the four-model range, though it is
doubtful whether any independent offering ever matched Buehrig’s
original Beverly fastback sedan for sheer style. Priced competitively
in the $2,000-3,000 range, the 810/812 should have been a huge
success, though, sadly, this was not to be. The Cord Corporation
was in deep financial trouble, and when its proprietor sold up in
August 1937, it spelled the end not just for Cord, but for Auburn and
Duesenberg as well. At the close, a little fewer than 3,000 810/812s
had been made.