Auburn Auburn 12 History

Introduced for 1932, the Auburn Twelve gave Depression-era buyers a twelve-cylinder car at a fraction of the price of a Cadillac V-12 or Packard Twin Six — Auburn marketed it as the most affordable V12 in America, with prices that undercut the established luxury makes dramatically.

It used a Lycoming-built 391-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V12 with a 45-degree bank angle and a distinctive 'fire slot' combustion-chamber design, rated around 160 hp, and could be ordered with the Columbia dual-ratio rear axle. A twelve-cylinder boat-tail Speedster was also offered on this chassis.

Despite genuinely advanced engineering and aggressive pricing, the Twelve struggled against a collapsing luxury market and lingering doubts about a 'cheap' V12; it was dropped after 1934 as Auburn pivoted to the supercharged straight-eight that would power the 851 Speedster.