More news on the Duesunberg (UPDATED with new article)
 

As previously reported, the ultra-luxury Duesenberg brand is set to return to the streets in 2007, after a 70-year hiatus. BusinessWeek sat down with Jeff Teague, designer of the company's comeback coupe called the Torpedo. "How do you bring back a car that was such a statement to drive, a car that was basically a rolling sculpture on four wheels? My dad, who was vice-president at American Motors, ingrained in me that the Duesenberg was the Stradivarius violin of cars," Teague says. "So a newly launched Duesie, I think, has the pressure to turn heads." Teague started with simple hand-drawn sketches that featured the brand's most distinguishing elements, before starting on a computer rendering or working out the engineering details, which are yet to be fully developed. "I was drawn to the 1932 and '31 models, and decided to keep the original grille," Teague says. The $300,000+ car will feature a revolutionary 12-cylinder engine with extreme fuel economy and performance.

Left-lane news

12-cylinder engine is revolutionary? they had those in cars for more then 90 years :P

no it has something like 300 horsepower and gets like 40mpg

The Duesenberg Custom Coach Company, custodian of the historic Duesenberg brand-name, has announced that it is to reveal its Torpedo Coupe at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance. US publication BusinessWeek has more details about its unique 12-cylinder engine.

This engine has been developed by Californian designer and engineer Eddie Paul, best known for creating the cars used in films such as The Fast and the Furious. His engine is based on a pump he patented in 1992 - now used by firefighters and the US Forestry Department - which has a rotating 'cylindrical energy module' (CEM) to draw in the fuel. It has just one spark plug per cylinder and, because it generates very little heat, it can be air-cooled. As a result of this, it is very light in weight and very fuel-efficient - and it does not even need an oil pump or extra lubrication system, as the fuel itself acts as a lubricant. It can even, apparently, run on either petrol or diesel fuel.






Should this be an innovation too far for potential buyers, however, a modified Mercedes-AMG V12 will also be offered (as fitted in the Maybach); this will appear in the first Torpedos, as Paul's engine is still some way off production.

The first new Duesenberg since 1937, the Torpedo has been designed by California-based Jeff Teague. Teague told BusinessWeek that the car has been developed to appeal to Rolls-Royce, Maybach and Bentley owners and, besides incorporating styling links to the classis Duesies of the past, he had to create an 'emotional spark' and 'wow' factor all of its own.


He said: 'I was drawn to the 1932 and '31 models, and decided to keep the original grille,' in addition to the two-tone paint effects often used at that time. There were a few issues, however, with having to meet modern safety regulations and expectations: 'It's much more complicated to design a car today than 75 years ago,' he said. 'Cars today have to have different proportions.'

DCC plans to make between 25 and 50 Torpedo Coupes a year to individual order and says that prices will be in the six-figure league, similar to those of the Rolls-Royce Phantom. That's a good £250,000-plus, then.

4Car.com

black_magician recently posted a link to some info about the engine in one of the older Duesenburg threads

http://www.axialvectorengine.com/AxialVector.htm

The Thread

If the performance figures stand up in real life, it looks to be quite a revolutionary engine. Very cool design IMO, and the torque figures on the technology demonstrator is unreal :shock:

They got a lot to live up to hopfuly its not just a clone of eveything else around and somthing that represents the brand not matter how over the top they were.

here's a link to the main site which has a few pics of the new car LINK

looks like the designer looked at the Bentley Continental GT and at the Maybach Excelero and decided that they needed to have a child. :P

more maybach then GT, and i always thought Bentley had strong family genes

I agree much more a Maybach then a Bentley, not bad in general but nothing special way too much styling of the Excelero in it though.