History of Auburn

One of the most famous of all American cars, the Auburn first appeared in 1900, when Frank & Morris Eckhart of the Eckhart Carriage Co. in Auburn Indiana, hand built cars, selling them in and around Auburn. Their first production car was a single cylinder, chain driven runabout. By 1911 both 2 & 4 cylinder cars were available in open and closed body styles.

1912 saw a 6-cylinder engine offering with innovative electric lights and a much larger chassis. In 1919 Auburn introduced its Beauty six model featuring streamlined bodies, step plates instead of running boards, disc wheels, nickel trim, leather upholstery and several bright color schemes. By 1924 Auburns were powered by Continental engines and featured low-pressure balloon tires; production was about 4000 units per year.

1936 Auburn

In 1924 E.L.Cord bought the Auburn Co. and from that point on the Auburn took a leading position in the American automobile business. E.L. Cord completely redesigned the Auburn for 1925. The 1931 Auburn was perhaps the sleekest car in the company's history and sales reached 28,103 units: it featured a new straight 8 engine followed by a 6.4 litre V-12 in 1932 with a Columbia dual-ratio rear axle which sold for less than $1000.00. A supercharged model was introduced in 1935 and the Speedster models were rated at 150BHP and were guaranteed to have been test driven at more than 100 mph. The cars were not changed for 1936 and NO cars were produced in 1937.

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