In the late 1960s, a new type of special-interest automobile emerged. Variously known as “neoclassic” or “second-generation” models, they featured 1930s-inspired styling on a reliable modern chassis and drivetrain. Numerous manufacturers sprang up building both original designs and evocations of original classics. Among the latter was the Duesenberg Corporation of Gardena, California, whose creation aped the famous Duesenberg Supercharged Short-Wheelbase Roadster, known informally but immortally as the SSJ.

The modern SSJ Roadster was no cheap fiberglass kit car. Bodies were produced to an unusually high degree, closely following the original, using correct vintage coachbuilding methods, with aluminum panels laid over an inner ash framework and steel fenders. While not a perfect copy, they were as close in proportion as any modern Duesenberg came. They were mounted on a 128-inch-wheelbase chassis from a Dodge truck, with independent front suspension and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, powered by a Chrysler V-8 engine equipped with a supercharger—yes, this SSJ was actually supercharged, and the 383 version reportedly produced some 300 horsepower in testing. Similar to the early Excalibur, the SSJ Roadster was, even with the standard Loadflite automatic transmission, a legitimate performance car. Road & Track founder John Bond featured it in the magazine’s February 1971 issue, with a glowing review that dubbed it “the best replica yet.”

All this did not come cheap. The original price was reportedly $24,500, which would have bought its owner two new top-of-the-line Cadillacs, albeit with considerably less cachet. Nonetheless, the price did limit production, which continued through 1975.

The SSJ Roadster offered here is serial number 002, the second example built, and was finished in an attractive combination of Silver Mist and Rose Beige with a red leather interior and matching carpets. It was formerly part of the collection of Canadian entrepreneur John Dick, exhibited at various European museums for some years under the auspices of the resurrected coachbuilding firm of Hooper. When the Hooper Corporate Collection was dispersed in 2010, the SSJ was acquired by its present owner, a longtime Duesenberg collector and connoisseur, who notes that his team rebuilt the carburetor and supercharger after acquisition.

It has since enjoyed occasional use as part of his collection and remains in good original cosmetic condition—and a fascinating piece of the Duesenberg story.