This 1931 Rigling and Henning 'Wonder Bread' Special crossed the auction block in 2005 and found a buyer willing to part with $125,000 for it.
It’s all Duesenberg, chassis and engine, with a two-place body for the driver and riding mechanic.
Herman Rigling and Cotton Henning were based in Indianapolis and renowned for their race winning chassis and proven 'Specials.'
Their specialty were using Buick straight-eight engines mounted in steel-rail frames. Phil Shafer of Des Moines piloted his Rigling Henning Shafer 8 to a very impressive 12th-place finish at the 1931 Indianapolis 500 race and in 1933 it finished in fifth
https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hmn/2011/01/Monterey-Weekend-2010/3693931.html#PhotoSwipe1537214980394
Getting the history of US built cars that participated in the Indy 500 is probably one of the more difficult challenges a car historian can undertake, in part because the open wheel scene was largely a cottage industry and in part the low tech, low cost, so called Junkyard Formula of the post depression years 1930 – 1939 are particularly hard to discern because of low budgets and unannounced deals that took place to keep the grids full.
8 of the 40 starters of the 1931 Indy 500 are credited with being built by Rigling.
My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s of the #54 Wonder Bread Special seen at Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea in 2012.
and here at Pebble Beach
http://www.psychoontyres.co.uk/tag/wonder-bread-special/
https://www.conceptcarz.com/view/photo/588850,13669/1931-rigling-and-henning-wonder-bread-special_photo.aspx
https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z13669/rigling-and-henning-wonder-bread-special.aspx
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2012/06/07/history-on-the-bricks/
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