Czechoslovakian automaker Tatra licensed aerodynamicist Paul Jaray’s streamlined designs beginning in the early 1930s. Tatra chief engineer Hans Ledwinka was a champion of streamlining and rear-engine cars, as he believed these two features provided both fuel efficiency and increased speed. To facilitate an air-cooled engine, body designer Erich Ubelacker incorporated...

This 1939 Lincoln is one of two “K” series LeBaron Convertible Roadsters known to have been built in 1939. After becoming President of Ford Motor Company, Edsel Ford focused on the styling of Fords and Lincolns, in contrast to his father who focused on practicality. The “K” chassis was designed...

Louis Delage founded his automobile company in France in 1905. The company was known for luxury automobiles and its eight-cylinder D8 models of the 1930s are considered its finest products. This D8’s Aérosport’s body was built by French coachbuilder, Letourneur et Marchand and its styling is credited to the founder’s...

The 1936 Cord and its revolutionary design shocked the industry. Its streamlined shape was created by Gordon Buehrig with assistance from Vince Gardner and features a low silhouette, front wheel drive and unitized body construction. It was the first production car to feature retractable headlamps. The wheel cover design mimics...

The Aerodynamic Hupmobile was originally designed by industrial designer Raymond Loewy in 1934 with assistance from Amos Northup, both early proponents of streamlining. The new Hupmobile eliminated the traditional freestanding headlight assemblies and faired them into the fender catwalks. The initial design also featured a unique wraparound three-piece windshield which...

Walter Chrysler was known for his willingness to push the envelope of innovation, and his company’s 1934 Airflow was no exception. Chrysler engineer Carl Breer styled the radical body shape through the use of a wind tunnel. Breer’s colleague, Fred Zeder, created an early ‘unibody’ design consisting of a square...

The Scarab was the brainchild of William Stout, an automotive and aviation designer and engineer. The Scarab’s uni-body construction and rear-engine placement allows for an expansive interior space. The interior arrangement foreshadowed today’s minivan and features movable seats with a folding table. On its hood is the ancient Egyptian motif...

The Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow show cars were a radical departure for the luxury brand well known for its conservative engineering and design philosophy. The Silver Arrows were designed by P-A designer Phil Wright and feature Pierce’s signature fender mounted headlamps with an aggressively sloped V-shaped grille. Design elements, such as...

The Bendix car was developed as a ‘car-of-the-future’ by Bendix engineers Victor Kliesrath and Alfred Ney and styled by William Ortwig, formerly of the Fisher Body Co. Ortwig eliminated the customary running boards and moved the fuel and water filler caps under the hood to allow for unblemished body panels....