Auburn built just 196 supercharged 812 Phaetons and this one, originally owned by legendary cowboy star Tom Mix, could be the rarest of all.
Tom Mix starred in approximately 350 movies and was the "King of Cowboys" when John Wayne was just a youngster. On October 12, 1940, while driving his Cord between Tucson and Phoenix, AZ, Mix crashed in a construction zone on Route 79 and was killed almost instantly. The 60-year-old actor was unable to brake in time and his 812 rolled into a gully. He had been hit in the head by an aluminum suitcase with cash, traveler’s checks and jewelry that had been on the package shelf. The gully was later named “Tom Mix Wash” and a plaque on SR 79 is inscribed, In Memory of Tom Mix.
Owned by Bob White, Scottsdale, AZ, Mix's Cord is one of only three with rare options, including an external-mounted spare. The other two also belonged to celebrities: Jazz singer Al Jolson and actress Barbara Stanwyk. Long time Cord enthusiast White bought Mix's car at auction in 2010 and began a painstaking 18-month frame-off restoration, the car's first since 1940.
“The Tom Mix Cord now appears exactly as it did 15 minutes before the crash," said White. "Our biggest challenge had been determining what it looked like in 1940 and then reproducing those parts because everything had to be handmade. We look forward to sharing it with enthusiasts from around the world at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance next March"
White’s restoration has required extensive research. Exact reproductions of Mix's dashboard-mounted holster and an oversized accelerator pedal to accommodate Mix's cowboy boots have been fabricated. Replicated medallions, presented to Mix by the King of Denmark, are on the Cord's distinctive coffin-nose hood as they were in 1940.
The 812 Cord is rare, technologically advanced and extraordinarily desirable," said Amelia Island Concours founder and Chairman Bill Warner. "The Tom Mix Cord is the most famous of the breed. It's a true destination car, the kind that hardcore classic car enthusiasts will travel great distances to see."
For more information about the 17th annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, March 9-11, 2012, please visit, http://www.ameliaconcours.org/