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Leonardo DiCaprio Drives $3 Million Duesenberg For Great Gatsby Role

 
6 6,457 views Aug 26, 2011

Leonardo DiCaprio at Odyssey of Pioneers launch

Leonardo DiCaprio at Odyssey of Pioneers launch

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Leonardo DiCaprio and Toby Maguire are in Australia to begin work on a new film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. 

Production doesn’t start until September 5, but the two stars were seen motoring around Sydney’s Centennial Park, driving a $3 million 1929 Duesenberg J.

The car is one of two Duesenbergs on loan from an unnamed U.S. museum for the filming of the movie.

Ironically, the F. Scott Fizgerald novel is set in 1922, seven years before the Duesenberg was built, which means the production will likely be taking some "artistic license" with the novel.

1929 Duesenberg J Sport Phaeton

1929 Duesenberg J Sport Phaeton

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The Duesenberg J was the Bugatti Veyron of its day, costing as much as $19,000 at a time when the average physician earned $3,000 per year and the most expensive Ford Model A sold for around $1,200.

The Duesenberg’s inline eight-cylinder engine made over 265 horsepower, which was good enough to give the impressively-sized roadster a top speed of nearly 120 mph.

Duesenberg ceased production in 1937, although at least two more cars were built following the company's demise. During and after World War II, there was so little interest in the brand that used Duesenbergs could be purchased for as little as a few hundred dollars, which makes us wonder what the $3 million car of the future will be. Maybe it's time to start looking for that clean, low mileage Pontiac Aztek.




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Comments (6)

  1. fb_1431009018 avatar Jeff Stork Posted: 8/26/2011 4:55pm PDT

    Better look again. The photos I have seen show Leo behind the wheel of a Duesenberg II Royalton, which is an 80's REPLICA on a Ford Truck chassis. Your first clue are the sealed beam headlamps behind the big lenses, look more carefully for the Twin-I Beam suspension. About a hundred grand on its best day. Face it, you guys just don't know Duesenberg.
     
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  2. fb_519418559 avatar Adalberto Burke Posted: 8/27/2011 5:06am PDT

    I think Americans should stop thinking about production costs and profits and bringing back such an icon of automobile luxury and performance!
     
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  3. Damien Thomas avatar Damien Thomas Posted: 8/27/2011 1:18pm PDT

    I second that!
     
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  4. destro59 avatar destro59 Posted: 8/27/2011 8:07pm PDT

    WORST BOOK EVER!
     
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  5. fb_787094126 avatar Nathan Smith Posted: 8/27/2011 8:51pm PDT

    It's going to be yellow, right?
     
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  6. fb_756493434 avatar Brian Parker Posted: 8/30/2011 4:58pm PDT

    Too bad since Gatsby's car in the book is a Rolls Royce
     
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