1932 Cord E-1 Prototype

This vehicle is known as the E-1 and was the prototype for the vehicle that was to replace the Cord L-29. When E.L. Cord was looking forward to his next range of vehicles, he ordered a car to be built that was twenty inches longer than the L-29. Originally, the car was to be fitted with a sixteen-cylinder engine but was replaced with another prototype twelve-cylinder engine of the same displacement.

The E-1 was to go into production for the 1932 model year, but unfortunately, it was not the right time economically to introduce a vehicle that was bigger than a long-wheelbase Duesenberg. So the idea and the project were scrapped.

Only one example of the E-1 was produced. Power is from a 491 cubic-inch displacement V12 engine and rides on a wheelbase that measures 157 inches. It weighs in excess of 6000 pounds.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2010