Draft:Cord E-1

In the early 1930s, E. L. Cord envisioned a new range of luxury vehicles to follow the Cord L-29. The E-1 was designed as a significantly larger automobile, with a wheelbase stretched by 20 inches compared to the L-29, resulting in a 157-inch (3,989 mm) wheelbase. The vehicle was planned as an enclosed limousine-style sedan intended for the 1932 model year. Originally engineers considered fitting the car with a Miller's 16-cylinder engine to power its substantial size, which would have made it larger and more opulent than even a long-wheelbase Duesenberg.^[3] This plan was abandoned in favor of a prototype 491 cubic inch (8.0 L) V12 engine producing approximately 200 horsepower. Company records indicate that three sedans were built in august 1932 as part of the experimental program, though the E-1 is the primary surviving and documented example.

The completed prototype weighed 6,000 pounds (2,700 kg) and featured front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (distinct from the L-29's front-wheel drive).

The deepening Great Depression made the introduction of an ultra-luxury vehicle impractical. Plans to produce the E-1 were scrapped, as the market could not support a car positioned above even the prestigious Duesenberg models. Following cancellation, the prototype was dismantled. Its engine was reportedly repurposed for use in a local power plant dynamo, while the body was stored and eventually left in a barn near Plato Center, Illinois.^[4]