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The Classic Cord was one Redline that eluded me for over 10 years of collecting. Up until recently, the Cord and the Olds 442 were the only 2 cars I didn’t have in my collection. Fortunately, that changed this past March when fellow collector Scott Jones offered me a fine Magenta piece from his personal collection (pictured below). The true stars of this article however, belong to Anita Smith (aka Chickluu). Anita is a top-notch collector, and I’m honored to have her allow me to showcase some of her fine examples of the Classic Cord. Anita has been collecting for over 8 years. She’s very knowledgeable with Redlines, and has some very pristine examples in her collection.

At one point in history, E. L. Cord controlled Auburn, Duesenberg, Cord, Lycoming, Stinson Aircraft and American Airways. In 1929, Cord introduced the L-29 – the first front-wheel drive automobile. When the stock market crashed, the luxury car market virtually slowed down to a standstill. E. L. Cord then commissioned Gordon Buehrig to create a baby Duesenberg. The result was a medium priced, front-drive car that became the 810 and 812 models introduced in 1936. The cars brought style and performance to the marketplace. Features included a coffin-nose, retractable headlights and V-8 power. The 812 was available in standard and supercharged version, and only 200 of the supercharged “Phaetons” were created. This supercharged 812 was the automobile Mattel modeled their Classic Cord after.

Mattel’s Classic Cord was designed by Larry Wood. This USA only casting featured a metal base and body and a metal engine with a supercharger sticking thru a lift-up hood. It’s plastic interior only came in black. Other features included a clear windshield, a lift off black plastic roof and of course, Redline tires.

Finishes were available in twelve spectraflame colors with the hardest to find currently being Hot Pink. This casting is very desirable among collectors. C8 examples sell in the range of $75-275 loose. The most valuable Cords are Hot Pink models with pristine loose pieces selling in the $1,900-2,500 range!

Credits: Anita Smith balance of the images. Magenta Cord from the RK Stickels collection. Cord Collectors of America text and images, Tomarts guide #6, Spectraflame-the essential guide.

Additional Redlines from Anita’s collection of cars can be seen in the following book, Hot Wheels Classic Redline Era: Hot Wheels – Birth of the Redline by Angelo Von Bogart (Hardcover – Sep 28, 2009).

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