Cord, the fabled automobile trademark, the choice of the rich and famous during Hollywood’s golden age, are on the market seeking a buyer wishing to resurrect their great name among car makers worldwide.
What if you learned that there was a car that debuted in the 1960s with front-wheel drive, a super-charged V8, chrome-plated side-exhaust pipes, hidden headlights, and a disappearing convertible top? and also that this same car was the original design for the Batmobile?
And what if you then learned that this car in fact was introduced not in the 1960s, but a full three decades earlier, in the 1930s? We’re referring here to the revolutionary Cord. No, not a Ford—or an Accord—but a Cord: quite possibly the coolest car brand you’ve never heard of.
In the 1920s and ’30s, Cord were a popular luxury American automotive brand that made a mark with their L29, and 810/812 models like the 1937 Cord Supercharged Sportsman. The brand did not survive the Great Depression and was sold to the Aviation Corporation, which attempted a revival in the 1940s. Another small-scale revival took place in the 1960s.
Now, the legendary American car company is set to make a return with the Cord and Kruse auction house, and the trademark being offered on sale at the Dan Kruse Classics auction held in Midland, Texas, on 17 June. The new buyer will secure the trademark itself, as well as licensing and manufacturing rights of Cord automobiles, Cord parts, or even Cord-branded clothing and model toys.
In the 1930s, film-star owners such as Johnny Weissmuller, Al Jolson and Clark Gable were drawn to the “coffin-nosed” Cords and tycoon Howard Hughes was fascinated by the new technology used in the cars with front-wheel drive, new gearing and suspension, and concealed headlamps and door handles, all within a beautiful streamlined shape. The avant-garde design of Cord motivated the Museum of Modern Art in New York to honoured the Cord 810 as “an outstanding American contribution to automobile design” in 1951. The innovative coffin-nose design has left its mark on pop culture inspiring the design of the original comic book version of the Batmobile and more than one Sony Playstation video games as well as music, books and movies like James Leasor’s Where the Spies Are and The Godfather.
Cowboy film star Tom Mix with a 1937 Cord Supercharged 812 Phaeton.
The 812 Supercharged version you see here was powered by a Lycoming V8 capable of 170 hp. The 812 had a unique front-wheel drive system that allowed the rest of the car to run unusually low to the ground, helping to improve handling and led to the 812 holding the average speed record of 128 km/h at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; one
that would stand until 1954.
Story: Alshin Thomas
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