Auburn's Overlooked 1935-36 Cabriolet

Errett Lobban Cord's Auburn Automobile Company was on shaky ground by the mid-1930s thanks to the Great Depression that extinguished other carmakers in America and elsewhere.  I wrote "Auburn's 1935 Facelift" here, dealing with the redesigned 1934 Auburns and the effort to make them more attractive for the 1935 model year.

As it happened, 1936 proved to be Auburn's last model year.  And as was sometimes the case, the final model years of dying brands saw that some of their cars were of great interest due to notable designs.  That was so for Auburn's 1935-1936 Speedsters with boattail styling by Gordon Buehrig, more famed for his design of 1936-1937 Cords.

Auburn made cars ranging from six cylinder lower-mid-level (priced like Pontiacs) to near-luxury V-12 powered cars at twice the price.  (The V-12s were dropped after 1934.)  Some models were quite sporty, and this was continued for 1935-36.  Besides the Speedster noted above, Auburn's line included a Cabriolet model that wasn't in the styling league of the Speedster, yet was still sporty-looking.

The Cabriolet has always been overshadowed by the Speedster.  Today's post is an attempt to give it more recognition.

Gallery

1935 Auburn 851 Supercharged Speedster - BaT Auctions photo
Those teardrop fenders and boat tail make for a strong theme seldom equaled in the 1930s.  The car shown here has a supercharged inline eight cylinder motor.  Auburn indicated supercharged status by using the exhaust pipes sprouting from the left side of the engine compartment (the right side lacked them).

1936 Auburn 654 Cabriolet - Barrett-Jackson Auctions photos
Here are three views of a final-year six-cylinder Cabriolet.  Supercharging was only available on eight-cylinder motors, hence no visible exhaust pipes.

The fender- running board arrangement is the same as on other non-Speedster Auburns.

There's a rumble seat, making the car technically capable of housing four passengers.  The spare tire is mounted externally at the rear, though some Cabriolets had spares mounted on the front fenders.

1935 Auburn 851 Cabriolet - BaT Auctions photo
An eight-cylinder, non-supercharged Cabriolet.  Paint accents are on the raised sculpting.

1935 Auburn 851 Supercharged Cabriolet - BaT Auctions photos
Now for three views of the sportiest Cabriolet.  Unlike the Speedster, its windshield is not V'd.  Side windows are rolled up in this photo.

The general shape is similar to a few roadsters from competing brands -- that is, in line with mid-30s American styling conventions, but nicely executed.  The long hood and those exhaust pipes provide the "sporty" factor.

The rear fenders are bolted to the body sculpting: note the cutline.