A combination Air Show and Car Show known as the Duesenberg Thunder Run is coming to the Goshen Municipal Airport on Sunday, September 6th, from 9am – 5pm. Tickets are $10 at the gate. All proceeds go to aviation and automobile-based charities.
The Thunder Run is a follow-up to the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Club’s 2010 event which set an unofficial World Record of 74 Duesenberg Automobiles in Auburn, Indiana. This is the fifth anniversary of that event and many Duesenberg owners have signed up to compete. Among them is the 1935 Duesenberg Speedster known as the Mormon Meteor which set many speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Mormon Meteor won Pebble Beach in 2007 when it was shown in its original racing configuration.
Duesenberg automobiles are considered to be some of the most desirable and expensive cars in the world today. Built in Indianapolis in the 1920’s and 1930’s, Duesenberg race cars were very competitive at the Indy 500 races of their era. Fred and Augie Duesenberg then expanded to build luxury cars based upon their proven racing technology. The business however was not successful until 1926 when E. L. Cord bought Duesenberg out of bankruptcy. Cord gave the Duesenberg brothers carte blanche to build the finest automobiles in the world capable of competing with any European marque such as Bentley, Rolls Royce or Bugatti. Less than 500 Model J Duesenbergs were built during their entire production run. A Duesenberg cost $8,500 new, when a house was only $2,000 during the depression. The buyer only received the engine, chassis, and front sheet metal. The customer would then order his body and interior, customdesigned by various coachbuilders. The final price of a Duesenberg often reached $15,000 to $20,000, which is nearly $500,000 in today’s money! To this day, Duesenbergs are the most expensive Americanbuilt cars.
Duesenberg Speed Exhibition coming back to Indiana On Sunday, September 6th, Duesenbergs from all over the country will gather to show off their speed and power on the runway at the Goshen Municipal Airport. Duesenbergs are often the center of attention at Concours and in Museums, but they are never seen being driven flat-out down an airport runway! Their Indy-proven 420 cubic-inch, 265-hp, engines are very impressive even by today’s standards.
The Thunder Run is presented by the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Club which is an organization that is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of original Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg Automobiles. This event will show a new generation that many of the innovations on today’s high-performance automobiles had their origin in the Duesenberg Model J and Supercharged SJ’s built 80 years ago.
In addition to the Duesenbergs, numerous aircraft will be on display. Some will be offering rides, such as a Ford Tri-Motor and “The Yankee Lady” B-17 bomber, Additionally, a Pratt & Whitney J-38 powered, 350-mph Jet- truck will make several passes down the runway! A 100-yard Wall of Fire will ignite during one of the Jet-Truck runs.
Tickets are available at the Goshen Airport the day of the event. $10 per adult, children under 10 are free. • All classic and collector car owners are invited to display their cars. They will receive preferred parking to display their automobiles. • Gates open at 9am. The Duesenbergs will arrive around 1pm. The Duesenbergs will compete in a number of heats. Time permitting, Auburn and Cord automobiles will go down the track. • The Thunder Run is a joint production of Freedom Fest, Inc. and the Auburn-CordDuesenberg Club.
To learn more and to book tickets on the Tri-Motor or the B-17, visit us on Facebook. www.facebook.com/2015ThunderRun No place brings the Duesenbergs home like Indiana!
