Three versions of the E306 Cord prototypes
Five E306 prototypes were built by the Auburn Automobile Company. This was further development of the "baby Duesenberg" concept. The retractable headlamps used on E306 had similar design to that of "baby Duesenberg", but the other innovative feature characteristic to "baby Duesenberg", the outrigger radiators, was abandoned. Later, the E306 prototypes saw production in the form of Cord 810 (1936) and Cord 812 (1937). Cord was a front wheel-drive car which allowed for low silhouette but also required long hood. This combination resulted in attractive design produced by Gordon Buehrig. Moreover, unlike its predecessor (Cord L-29), this car featured a new front wheel-drive chassis, a new V-8 Lycoming engine and an innovative vacuum-operated pre-selective gearshift. The E306 prototypes were quite similar to production Cord sedans. The only distinct exterior difference is the design and placement of the retractable headlamps. Also, the windshield and rear window areas were increased on the production car. One of the first prototypes apparently had grill-louvers made of stainless steel. There were other minor exterior differences (Josh Malks is acknowledged for valuable information). To my knowledge none of the original E306 prototypes survived. The "Coppertone Cord" owned by Dr. Paul Bryant is a replica(?) of a prototype. The car is painted "burnt sienna" and has grill-louvers, wheels, handles, etc. copper-plated (Thanks to Bill Himmel of the information and reference images). Although, in my opinion, this color scheme fits well with the style of the car, the authenticity of the color scheme is doubted. References 1. Design for an automobile, patent number Des. 93,451 (Gordon Miller Buehrig; Oct. 2, 1934) 2. Cooling system for automobile engines, patent number 2,078,067 (August Duesenberg; April 20, 1937). 3. Headlight structure, patent number 2,084,120 (Harold T. Ames; Jun. 15, 1937) 4. Design for an automobile, patent number Des. 97,697 (Gordon Miller Buehrig; Dec. 2, 1935) 5. Design for an automobile hood structure, patent number Des. 99,973 (Gordon Miller Buehrig; Jun. 9, 1936) Click on a thumbnail below to view a full-size image |
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