![]() ![]() This rare C-2 Coupe is a brilliantly conceived and well-executed machine that was simply too modern for its time. The Airflow is perhaps the best example of Art Deco style in the American idiom. This 1935 Imperial C-2 Coupe is one of ten known to survive of just 200 built. The Toyota AA was the first car built by the brand, and was essentially a copy of the airflow. Volvo was the first manufacturer to put a smaller copy of the Airflow into production, and the Peugeot 202 saw great success. ![]() ![]() However, although the car did not directly benefit the company as much as executives had hoped, the innovations the Airflow brought forth were not ignored by other manufacturers. With hundreds of hours of engineering dedicated to producing a more efficient car of the future, the public essentially was not ready for such an imperative change and the car did not sell as successfully as Chrysler had expected. The front fenders enclosed the front tires, and the rear fenders nearly encased the rear tires to further improve the power to drag ratio. The front grille was not an intrusive upright piece, but more of an integrated ‘waterfall’ look, with the lights remaining relatively flush with the body. Engineers found that the two-box design that was seen on nearly all cars at the time was so aerodynamically inefficient, that it was actually more efficient driven backwards! This resulted in a streamline approach to every exterior section of the car the windshield was comprised of two sheets of glass that raked backwards but also raked side to side at a ‘V’ angle. They are assembled by Chrysler Motors Ltd in Kew, Surrey. This improved the weight distribution to 54% front and 46% rear, which evened to about 50-50 with passengers on board.Ĭhrysler built its own wind tunnel at the Highland Park headquarters to properly test aerodynamics. Chrysler Airflow of 1936 is in fact 1934 DeSoto Airflow with 1935 model SG grille and 1934 Chrysler Airflow bumpers. The new Airflow’s engine was moved forward over the front wheels, and seating positions for all passengers was moved forward so that rear passengers sat between the axles, not on top of the rear axle. Chrysler’s corporate cousin, DeSoto, pursued the same path between. Offered between 19, Chrysler built two and four-door Airflow body styles with a design that primarily emphasized the virtues of streamlining. Chrysler, DeSoto and Imperial all had their versions of the Airflow whose aerodynamic shape more». It’s located in Mount Brydges, Ontario, Canada and is available for a current bid of 3,528, with the reserve not yet met. A traditional two-box design car of the time carried roughly 65% of its weight over the rear wheels, which worsened with passengers. It was the first full-size American production car to use streamlining as a basis for production. With the help of Orville Wright, Chrysler engineers set out to create a revolutionary car that was lighter, more aerodynamic and had a better weight distribution front to rear.Īll areas of the car were taken into consideration to improve overall dynamics. Suspension: Rigid axles, semi-elliptic leaf springsīrakes: Lockheed hydraulic drurn type (CW vacuum assisted)Ĭars on the road in the mid 1930’s were all quite similar large, boxy automobiles traditionally built with the body attached to the chassis. ![]()
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