Auburn Speedster History
Auburn's legendary boat-tail roadster — culminating in the 1935–36 supercharged 851/852, an Art Deco icon designed by Gordon Buehrig.
Photo: “1932 Auburn Model 8-100 Boattail Speedster, front right side (Greenwich 2021)” by Mr.choppers / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped to 16:9.
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The Auburn Speedster was the marque's halo car: a low, rakish boat-tail roadster offered across three broad phases — the Alan Leamy–styled boat-tails on the eight- and twelve-cylinder chassis of 1928–1934, and the definitive supercharged straight-eight 851 (1935) and 852 (1936).
The 1935–36 car, restyled by Gordon Buehrig (who went on to design the Cord 810/812), is the model most people picture: sweeping sandwiched fenders, a backswept radiator, and chromed flexible external exhaust pipes exiting the hood. Power came from a 4.6-liter Lycoming straight-eight fitted with a Schweitzer-Cummins centrifugal supercharger rated at 150 bhp, paired with a Columbia dual-ratio rear axle.
Each supercharged Speedster carried a dash plaque, signed by land-speed driver Ab Jenkins, certifying the individual car had exceeded 100 mph before shipment — a nod to Jenkins's 1935 record run averaging over 100 mph for twelve hours in a stock 851 SC. Despite its beauty the Speedster was sold at a loss; only around 143 of the 1935–36 supercharged cars were built before Auburn folded.
Generations
Boat-tail eight · 8-cylinder boat-tail (Leamy)
Photo: “1932 Auburn Model 8-100 Boattail Speedster, front right side (Greenwich 2021)” by Mr.choppers / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Alan Leamy–styled boat-tail roadsters on Auburn's eight-cylinder chassis — the original Speedster look that the 1935 car refined.
1932 Photo: “1932 Auburn 8-100A Speedster (21737850635)” by Sicnag / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
851 supercharged · 851 SC (Buehrig)
Photo: “1935 Auburn 851 S-C Boattail Speedster (25256925341)” by Joe deSousa / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Gordon Buehrig's restyled boat-tail with a 150-bhp supercharged Lycoming straight-eight and the Ab Jenkins 100-mph dash plaque.
1935 Photo: “1935 Auburn 851 Supercharged Speedster (21737869205)” by Sicnag / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
852 supercharged · 852 SC
Photo: “1936 Auburn Model 852 speedster p1” by AlfvanBeem / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0. Cropped to 16:9.
The 1936 Speedster — mechanically the 851 carried over, distinguished mainly by '852' grille badging; the final Auburn Speedster.
1936 Photo: “Stahls Automotive Collection December 2021 060 (1936 Auburn 852 Supercharged Speedster)” by Michael Barera / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Body styles
- Boat-tail roadster
Notable special editions & performance variants
851/852 SC (Supercharged)
The supercharged 4.6-liter straight-eight (150 bhp) boat-tail; each shipped with an Ab Jenkins–signed plaque certifying it had topped 100 mph. About 143 built.
Related models
Collect the nameplate
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