The Ligonier Mountain Pace Car

Picture this: a hot July day in 1932. A Duesenberg convertible (let’s imagine it bright red), piloted by Fred Duesenberg himself, thunders westbound on Route 30. He rides atop Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Ridge near Boswell.

In those days, many car bodies were custombuilt, and a Duesenberg could easily exceed twenty feet in length, longer than the biggest pick-up trucks on the road today. Indeed, this bright red machine is massive and impossible to miss.

Powering it is an 8-cylinder motor with nearly 300 supercharged horsepower. It could catapult this enormous vehicle at speeds over 100 miles per hour. The idling engine would be nearly silent and smooth and, when exercised, would give a surging rumble felt even through the perfect chassis. You press the gas, you could hear the whistling supercharger winding up to a shriek.

Continue Reading on Page 5 of The Loyalhanna Review 2024