THE AERODYNAMIC PIONEER: HOW THE CHRYSLER AIRFLOW SHAPED THE FUTURE OF CARS

In 2022, Chrysler unveiled a battery electric concept car called the Airflow—a callback to the days when the automaker was an engineering powerhouse. Unfortunately, Chrysler later pulled the plug on using the Airflow name in production. The average 21st century EV lessee probably wouldn’t get the reference anyway, though old-car fans can certainly appreciate it.  

Automotive aerodynamics—something that contributes mightily to the driving range of a battery-powered automobile—was still in its infancy when the original Airflow broke cover in 1934. The Airflow was light-years ahead of the American competition, even if it wasn’t the first car ever designed to cheat the wind. (Chrysler learned that the hard way when it had to settle a patent infringement lawsuit, filed by aero pioneer Paul Jaray, on behalf of his Jaray Streamline Corp.)  

The swoopy ’36 Chrysler Airflow coupe pictured here—which sold on Hemmings Auctions back in 2022 for $112,875—is gorgeous and unusual, but not the pure Airflow design that made the original so revolutionary, as well as so controversial. At launch in 1934, the Chrysler and De Soto Airflows failed to catch fire with buyers, partly due to their revolutionary aero styling. So, from ’35 until the end of the Airflow’s run in ’37, the cars were tweaked to make them seem more conventional. Meanwhile, every other automaker was racing to make their cars look more streamlined… like the Airflow. Now, 80 or 90 years later, casual observers might wonder what all the fuss was about, and have no inkling about the Airflow’s outsized influence on the car industry.  

In the early 1930s, Walter P. Chrysler, Chrysler’s head of engineering Carl Breer, along with Chrysler engineers Fred Zeder and Owen Skelton (Breer, Zeder, and Skelton were known as the “Three Musketeers”) pinned their hopes on the Airflow as the great disruptor that would revolutionize automotive design, thus positioning Chrysler as the industry leader. Instead, it was a disaster—particularly at the outset. But while the car flopped with the buying public, it introduced American automakers to game-changing concepts like wind-tunnel testing, unit-body construction and the benefits of a low center of gravity with balanced weight distribution. 

Breer had his a-ha moment about aerodynamics in the late 1920s when eyeing the silhouettes of some fighter aircraft as they flew past. He enlisted William Earnshaw, an engineer at Chrysler’s Dayton, Ohio, plant, who consulted a legend in aerodynamics: Dayton’s own Orville Wright. Following Wright’s advice, Earnshaw fashioned a wind tunnel in Dayton for preliminary work starting in 1927. By 1928, Chrysler was building a more elaborate setup at its Highland Park headquarters. As part of the testing at the new facility, engineers put Chrysler’s then-current models in the new wind tunnel and made their famous discovery: most cars of the 1920s and ’30s were more aerodynamic with their rear ends pointing into the wind than facing forward—by 30 percent on average. 

Eventually their research led to a handbuilt prototype that resembled the production Airflow: the 1932 Trifon Special. The new car was named after Demitrion Trifon, a Chrysler mechanic and test driver working on the project—the use of his surname was intended to throw off anyone from the competition potentially spying on Chrysler’s work. The Trifon Special had a slanted, one-piece curved windshield (used later on 1934 Imperial Customs) and a rear-hinged hood and integrated headlamps, and it was built using girder-truss construction where the substructure for the body was part of the chassis—an early unit-body configuration. The car’s design also positioned the front and rear seats between the axles rather than placing the rearmost passengers over the axle. Meanwhile, the Chrysler inline engine was moved forward over the front axle. This balancing act meant that the car was nose-heavy with no passengers but, with a full complement aboard, it approached 50/50.  

The earliest Chrysler and De Soto Airflows were the stars of auto shows, but complications assembling the new bodies delayed delivery until mid 1934. Then, the first cars suffered teething pains, including reports of engine mounts breaking. In its first year, Chrysler sold 11,292 Airflows while De Soto fared slightly better with 13,940. Despite styling changes, sales spiraled: 14,548 Chrysler and De Soto Airflows were sold in 1935; in ’36, they dropped to 11,272; and just 4,600 Airflows were sold in the final year 1937. 

Airflow isn’t a household name today, something that likely factored in Chrysler’s decision to rename its new EV. But these pioneering streamliners are still highly sought after among collectors and nice examples can command six-figure sums. 

SPECIFICATIONS 

Engine: L-head straight-eight, 323.5-cu.in. 

Horsepower: 115 @ 3,400 rpm 

Compression: 6.2:1 

Carburetor: Stromberg one-barrel 

Transmission: Three-speed manual with optional overdrive 

Suspension: Leaf springs front and rear, tubular front axle, live rear axle with open driveshaft  

Brakes: Four-wheel hydraulic drum 

Wheelbase: 123 inches 

Curb weight: 3,200-3,500 pounds 

Price new: $1,350 

Value today: $65,000 

The post The Aerodynamic Pioneer: How the Chrysler Airflow Shaped the Future of Cars appeared first on The Online Automotive Marketplace.

2025-01-31T16:47:23Z