Rare Car Archive

Makes › Cord United States › L-29 Coupe by Hayes (de Sakhnoffsky) · Coachbuilt · 1929 One-off

Cord
L-29 Coupe by Hayes (de Sakhnoffsky)

One-off show coupe designed by Alexis de Sakhnoffsky for Hayes; first American entry to win Paris, Monte Carlo and Beaulieu concours

Still being researched: full specifications. Everything shown is checked against the cited sources. Know more? Send us a source.

IDENTIFICATION CARD · CORD L-29 COUPE BY HAYES (DE SAKHNOFFSKY) 1929
No licensed photograph yet. Photographs are published only when their licence permits it.
1BuiltIndependently researched
0Chassis documentedin this archive
?SurvivingNot yet verified
Contents
  1. 01Overview
  2. 02Production & history
  3. 03Specifications
  4. 04Colours & options
  5. 05Individual cars
  6. 06Reference

01Overview

At a glance

Built
1 Built
Years
1929
Engine
L-head inline eight-cylinder, front-wheel drive · 4,893 cc / 4.9 LFactory: 298.6 cu in · converted
Power
93.2 kW / 127 PSFactory: 125 hp · converted
Top speed
Not yet verified
Body
Not yet verified
Designer
Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky (Hayes Body Company)
In this archive
Not yet verified
Surviving
Not yet verified

Sources and any conflicting figures are in the sections below.

Why it matters

Designed by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky for the Hayes Body Company, this one-off front-wheel-drive Cord coupé became the first American entry to win top honours at Paris, Monte Carlo and Beaulieu. It is regarded as one of the crowning achievements of the Classic Era.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Model rarityOne-off 1 · Built1
Specification rarityNot yet assessed
Colour rarityNot yet assessed
Individual rarityNot yet assessed
Historical rarityNot yet assessed
Survival rarityNot yet assessed

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

02Production & history

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

What is countedFigureBasisStatus
Total model productionone-off 11 Factory production Independently researched

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

Hayes built the coupé in just over two months for the 1929 Paris show, where it won the Medal of Honor; it went on to win at Monte Carlo and Beaulieu. It sits on the front-wheel-drive L-29 chassis with a 298.6 cu in L-head straight-eight. Industrial designer Brooks Stevens owned it for about 50 years, and it later won its class at Pebble Beach in 1987. Of 43 custom-bodied L-29s, 12 are known to survive.

Variants

How each version differs from the standard L-29 Coupe by Hayes (de Sakhnoffsky).

No variants documented yet. Have a source? Contribute it.

03Specifications

Technical specifications

Engine

Engine familyNot yet verified
Engine codeNot yet verified
LayoutL-head inline eight-cylinder, front-wheel drive2
Displacement 4,893 cc / 4.9 LFactory: 298.6 cu in · converted2
BoreNot yet verified
StrokeNot yet verified
Compression ratioNot yet verified
Fuel systemNot yet verified
Power 93.2 kW / 127 PSFactory: 125 hp · converted2Source states bhp (brake horsepower, mechanical).
Power atNot yet verified
TorqueNot yet verified

Transmission & drivetrain

GearboxThree-speed selective sliding-gear manual2
GearsNot yet verified
Driven wheelsFront2

Chassis, body & dimensions

ChassisNot yet verified
Front suspensionNot yet verified
Rear suspensionNot yet verified
BrakesNot yet verified
SteeringNot yet verified
Body constructionNot yet verified
Wheelbase 3,493 mmFactory: 137.5 in · converted2
LengthNot yet verified
WidthNot yet verified
HeightNot yet verified
Front trackNot yet verified
Rear trackNot yet verified
Kerb weightNot yet verified
Dry weightNot yet verified

Performance

Maximum speedNot yet verified
0–100 km/hNot yet verified
Fuel tankNot yet verified

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

04Colours & options

Factory colours & interiors

Original paint and trim, with the number of cars in each where a source gives it.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

Factory options & codes

Codes are shown exactly as written by the manufacturer.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

05Individual cars

Chassis register

Every documented car, with its colours, history and where it is now. Open a row for the full record. Known chassis are not automatically authenticated originals.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

Competition history

Every race result of the individual cars, in date order. Click a chassis number to open its full record in the register.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

Auction & sale history

Documented public sales of the individual cars. Click a chassis number to open its full record in the register.

Not yet documented. Have a source? Contribute it.

See one in person

Museums where an example of this car can be seen.

No example is documented on public display yet. Have a source? Contribute it.

06Reference

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

The car is a documented one-off: chassis 2927005, engine FD2638A (the car is titled by its engine number).

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

  1. 1
  2. 2
    1929 Cord L-29 Coupe by Hayes, Amelia Island 2012 Level B RM Sotheby's
    • L-head inline eight-cylinder engine ... front-wheel drive
    • 125 bhp, 298.6 cu. in.
    • three-speed selective sliding-gear manual transmission
    • front-wheel drive
    • Wheelbase: 137.5"
    Accessed 2026-11-11

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