A 1930 Duesenberg Model J Murphy dual-cowl phaeton sold for $2m at RM Sotheby's in Hershey, Pennsylvania on October 7.
It's one of only three Model Js to feature the rare and iconic Walter Murphy coachwork, making it a serious prize for collectors.
 The Duesenberg Model J spent three decades in Mexico |
The car originally belonged to condiment maker John F Howard, aka "the Mayonnaise King", who bought had it shipped new to his home in Mexico in the early 1930s.
He sold it on in 1945 and it passed through a series of owners, including a Mexican movie studio. It even appears in the 1956 melodrama Corazon Salvaje (Savage Heart).
Bizarrely its last Mexican owner bricked it up behind a wall in an airport car park, presumably as a method of storage.
It was discovered by an American Duesenberg expert in 1962, who negotiated its release and had it shipped back to the States.
A 1935 Auburn Eight supercharged speedster achieved $880,000.
The stunning car is the winner of several awards at US concours d'elegance, including the prestigious best in class prize at the Amelia Island meet.
Auburn was the American answer to the jaw droppingly beautiful speedsters by Bugatti and Bentley being built on the other side of the Atlantic.
The auction house comments: "it is rare to find one that has been taken to such a superb level of award-winning, painstakingly researched authenticity as that which is offered here."
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