Duesenberg Model J chassis 2254 began its life in the United States as a Murphy Town Car, originally built on the long 153.5‑inch wheelbase. Delivered new to New York City, it served for several years in its formal American configuration before being exported to Paris, where the new owner quickly discovered that the large town-car body was poorly suited to Europe’s narrow streets.

Recognizing that a more compact and sporting design would appeal to his wealthy clientele, E. Z. Sadovich, the Paris Duesenberg distributor, removed the Murphy bodywork and sold the bare chassis to the renowned Swiss coachbuilder Hermann Graber of Wichtrach, near Bern. Graber, celebrated for his elegant, aerodynamic European designs, shortened the chassis to the shorter 142.5‑inch wheelbase and, in 1937, crafted the bespoke cabriolet body the car still wears today.