THE LAGRANDE ‘SWEEP PANEL’ DUAL-COWL PHAETON During the Duesenberg Model J’s production run, company president Harold Ames decided to bring some of the more popular body styles fully under Cord Corporation’s direct control.

The iconic “Sweep Panel” Dual-Cowl Phaeton, originally produced by LeBaron, was reworked by the talented Duesenberg designer Gordon Buehrig, who raised the beltline to meet a reverse-curved cowl and gave the “sweep panel” itself a more subtle but no less attractive curve.

Buehrig was a master of minor tweaks to a design that made all the difference, which on this body included designing the top so that it would fold nearly flush with the rear of the coachwork when lowered.

This formed the phaeton’s lines into a single cohesive shape.

The new dual-cowl phaeton design was produced by the Union City Body Company, a Cord Corporation holding.

Union City not having a particularly graceful or elegant ring to it, the name “LaGrande” was conjured into being.

A total of...