Auburn Eight History

Eight-cylinder Lycoming engines were the backbone of Cord-era Auburn. From the mid-1920s the company sold a succession of straight-eight series — designations such as the 8-88, 8-77 and 8-98 in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and finally the 851 and 852 of 1935–36 — that combined striking two-tone styling with prices well below comparable luxury cars.

These eights carried Auburn's reputation for style-per-dollar: long hoods, sweeping fenders and the famous boat-tail Speedster body all rode on eight-cylinder chassis. The supercharged version of the straight-eight, in the 851/852, became the brand's defining engine. Production of all Auburn cars ended in 1937 when E. L. Cord sold his holdings and the Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg marques were wound up.