Duesenberg
SJ Speedster 'Mormon Meteor' (Ab Jenkins record car)

Why it matters

The Duesenberg Special, later the Mormon Meteor, was Ab Jenkins' Bonneville record car, built on a nearly standard Model J chassis with a tuned SJ engine. Harry Yeaggy's car won Best of Show at the 57th Pebble Beach Concours.

How rare is it?

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

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

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

History

Jenkins and Augie Duesenberg began the Duesenberg Special in May 1934 on an unnumbered 142.5-inch Model J chassis with engine J557. Duesenberg designer J. Herbert Newport drew the narrow, belly-panelled body with a single cyclops headlight, and the front axle was dropped. Two SJ engines were prepared with special camshafts, large carburettors and a ram's horn manifold, giving about 400 hp against the SJ's rated 320.

On 31 August 1935 the car set a 24-hour average of 135.47 mph at Bonneville (conceptcarz says 135.58). Jenkins then adapted it to a Curtiss Conqueror V12, creating the Mormon Meteor for 1936. In 1938 the original engine was refitted and doors added, and Jenkins and his son drove the car about 20,000 miles before selling it in 1943. It sold for $4,445,000 at Gooding & Company in August 2004, according to Sports Car Market.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

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

Identification guide

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

The car has a long tapered tail, a heavily raked radiator with a single central headlight, a full belly pan, teardrop fenders that were removed for record runs, an 18-inch wheel set with small sponsons and a ram's horn intake manifold; its engine is J557 and the chassis has no number. Doors and a rudimentary top were added in 1938.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   1935 Mormon Meteor Duesenberg SJ Speedster Level B Sports Car Market

   • unnumbered Model J chassis ... engine J557
   • The result was 400 hp, up from the SJ's optimistically rated 320
   • except for a dropped front axle that lowered the nose for better stability

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   Sports Car Market – 1935 Mormon Meteor Duesenberg SJ Speedster Level C

   • 1 one-off record car (profile lists Number Produced: 1)

   Accessed 2026-11-11
3. 3
   Ab Jenkins and His Mormon Meteor, Part Two Level B The Truth About Cars · 2015-12-01

   • identified by the company as J-557
   • a higher 7.5-to-1 compression ratio
   • measured on the dyno at 390 to 400 horsepower at 5,000 rpm

   Accessed 2026-11-12
4. 4
   1935 Duesenberg Model SJ Special Mormon Meteor Level B conceptcarz.com

   • supercharged 420 cubic-inch eight-cylinder engine

   Accessed 2026-11-12
5. 5
   1935 Duesenberg Model SJ Mormon Meteor Speedster Level B Supercars.net

   • unnumbered Model J chassis that had a standard wheelbase of 142.5 inches

   Accessed 2026-11-12