The 852 served as the last model the great Auburn company would produce. Despite plans to produce further evolutions of the 852, the factory shut down in October of 1937 with the Cord Empire.

The 852 itself was an evolution of the 1925 Auburn 8-88. The name is rooted with the Inline-8 which originally produced 68 horse power. By 1930, the same engine was supercharged, upgraded to 115 horse power and name Speedster was adopted to reflect it.

The most unique feature of the 852 or 851 was a dual-ratio differential. For steep acceleration, the differential would use a 4.5:1 ratio. Once the car was up to speed, the driver could select a slower, 3.0:1 ratio via a lever on the steering wheel.