Automotive Research Library of the Hcfihcfihcfi
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AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH LIBRARY OF THE HCFIHCFIHCFI Major support by the Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation Spring 2014 “The Information Place” Volume 16 #2 Auto Design & Coach Building In the past several articles presented through the newsletter, we have explored the historical aspects of many technologies developed within the realm of the automo- bile and its close relatives (the wood-spoke wheel of the horse-drawn carriage, for in- stance), and while technological break- throughs and their origins are both interest- ing and vast in their intricacies and histo- ries, it is the esthetic value of the automo- bile that I will focus on in this issue – the designs and designers of some of history’s most beloved and noteworthy cars in partic- ular. Prior to delving into such fertile sub- ject matter, it should be noted that given the sheer volume of automobile designers and companies, I plan to focus in detail on a precious few of them here. The silver lining is that if you are intrigued by the subject matter to the point of further investigation, the library can certainly pacify your curios- ities, so you can take some comfort in that, right? 1951 Bugatti by Saoutchik Up Coming Events THE GRAND ROUTIERI (FRANCE) A collection of French coachbuilders signs that were ordering bodies from the June 28 Orange County Model T Ford catering to the ultra-rich, the Grand Routie- Routieri included the likes of Bugatti, Club Swap Meet at El Dorado High ri specialized in the elegant and the extrav- Delahaye, and Talbot. The collective fo- School, Placentia, CA agant. The Routieri included the cream of cus tended to be the illusion of motion June 29: Book Sales at Automobile the crop in French coach building with while standing still – bold, flowing exteri- Driving Museum, El Segundo, CA names such as Soutchik, Faget, Varnet, or lines and daring flare and teardrop de- July 26: Long Beach Model T Ford Franay, Pourtout, as well as Figoni and signs (primarily influenced by Figoni, Club Swap Meet at Los Alamitos Falaschi; most of whom would enjoy great Falaschi, and Soutchik). Race Course, CA successes even after the advent of more September 21: Dana Point Concourse THE ITALIANS economical yet stylish cars in the early thir- d’Elegance, St. Regis Monarch ties were introduced, signaling the begin- After the demise of the Routieri era Beach Resort, Dana Point, CA ning of the end of custom coach building (brought about by the introduction of the September 28: Santa Fe Concorso, at on a grand scale. A luxury automobile tax 1934 Citroen 7, aka the ‘Light 15’), the The Club at Las Campanas, Santa in France in the 1950’s all but sealed their coach builders in Italy seemed to have had Fe, NM fate, but In an age where the norm meant their fingers on the pulse of where the October 8 to 11: Hershey Fall Swap ordering chassis and body from different industry was headed - insofar as the trend Meet, Hershey, PA companies, the rich demanded style and of automobile of design within the spe- October 26: Car Classic 2014 — Art ornamented bodywork; usually translating cialized sector- in stark contrast to the Center College of Design, to cars that were luxurious, but lethargic French. As a result, by the time that Pasadena, CA and heavy. The top names in chassis de- Continue on page 2 Auto Design & Coach Building Continued from page 1 staggering number of Hamshaw, Hooper & Co., Mulliner & Co., companies that built bod- Park Ward, and Thrupp & Maberly. It was- ies for Panhard, Ferrari, n’t just the royalty of Britain that associated Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Mase- with UK coach builders; crowns from all rati, Abarth, and Aston- around Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Martin could literally all commissioned British coaches, and they take up a paragraph of its almost always were fitted onto the noble own. Some of the most chassis of Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Daimler, noteworthy that deserve and Mercedes-Benz. mention here are Alle- The advent of youth pop culture in the mano, Bertone, Boano, late Fifties and its influence on what was Castagna, Drogo, Frua, initially a market geared toward the austere and Touring. and utilitarian in England (undeniably due 1934 Citroen 7 American-influenced vehicles and mass- THE BRITISH market designs were becoming en vogue, Coach building in Britain Italian coachbuilders were already riding was already an art form by the the wave. time the horseless carriage Focusing on developing technologies came to fruition. Coaches were born during WWII like metallurgy, me- commissioned by British roy- chanics, and aerodynamics, Italian design- alty for generations, and when ers like Ghia and Pinin Farina took building motor coaches were intro- duced, the British were at the forefront, touting such names as Abbott, Barker, Corsica, Free- 1959 Morris Mini-Minor stone & Webb, Gurney Nutting, Lancia Aurelia B20 bodies for such chassis makers as Alfa Ro- meo, Fiat, Lancia, Peugeot and Renault and brought fresh ideas and released what seemed to be a wave of creativity in post- war Italy. It could be argued that the Lancia Aurelia B20 and the Cisitalia 202 were the frontrunners that changed coupe design 1947 Cisitalia 202 by Pininfarina forever. Italy boasts a rich history of coach to the economic devastation of the war) builders and stylized sports cars, and the brought about wild and bright colors and sports styling being taken directly from fashion houses in swinging London. The new generation of small front-wheel drive cars (something that Citroen had already been doing for two decades) was spear- headed by Alex Issigonis’ Mini in 1959. Swinging London also found its way into the designs of other coach builders at the higher end of the market, giving birth to the Jaguar E-Type, Pininfarina’s Ferraris, and the Lotus Elan. 1980 Ferrari 208 GTB and GTS Auto Design & Coach Building Continued from page 2 1930 Murphy Dusenberg Model J Sport Berline 1932 Chrysler Imperial THE AMERICANS By the 1960’s, the outrageous and the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette, Prior to the 1960’s, American design- wildly creative concept cars of America which was brought back from a certain ers and stylists were among the most covet- (which were mimicking military aviation death at the hands of executives dissatisfied ed in coach building; Henry Leland (of designs, rockets, and ‘space ships’) were with slumping sales of its four-year old Cadillac & Lincoln fame), being refined into such future classics as ‘performance’ car in 1957 by a then 19- Walter M. Murphy (who year old designer named made a household name for Peter Brock – fresh out of himself designing Dusen- design college - and auto- bergs for the Hollywood motive visionary William elite), Harry Lonschein (first Mitchell – who supplied employed at 16 by Brewster the concept to young & Co. – famous for its extrav- Brock. agant Buick coach work – and When mentioning Ameri- later founding Rollston Co., can coach builders, one which was rumored to mean would be remiss if Harley ‘son of Rolls’ despite the add- Earl was not recognized ed ‘T’), and Al Leamy, credit- as one of the most vision- ed with designing not only the ary. His work with Gen- Cord L29, but also the Lebar- eral Motors and all of its on Imperial Roadster by subsidiaries (the 1959 Chrysler in 1931. blister cockpit turbine- 1963 Split Window Corvette powered Firebird III con- cept being one of the most notable) were nothing short of awe-inspiring, and most of Continue on page 4 1959 Pontiac Firebird III Turbine 1941 Packard Clipper Darrin Convertible Auto Design & Coach Building Continued from page 3 1941 Packard Custom Super-8 Convertible by Darrin his hometown Hollywood contemporaries agreed – his clientele included such heavy- weights as Cecil B. Demille. Possibly the most sought-after luxury coaches made in the United States were made by none other than Packard. Under GM Alvan McCaulay, once buggy-like single-cylinder cars began to grow with size and complexity. When the Packard Custom Body Division began churning out custom limousines, landaulets, cabriolets, and coupes, the names behind them be- came legends. These names included Brewster, Dietrich, Fleetwood, Lebaron, Rollston, and the man considered to be the unsung prince of American coach building, Howard “Dutch” Darrin. THE GERMANS The German coach builders and auto body stylists were possibly the most fa- mous. The Volkswagen Beetle alone has 1939 Auto-Union Type-D 1930 m=Mercedes-Benz Type 540-K Bugatti Veyron 16.4 eclipsed the ‘units sold’ number set by the Rossi were building coaches as early as “World’s Great Automobile Stylists, Ford Model T, and despite the reason for 1906, and in addition to designing and The,” John Tippler ©1990 Mallard Press / its design (Hitler initially commissioned building bodies for luxury vehicles such as Assorted pages the Beetle to be the ‘Socialist People’s car’ Bugatti, Mercedes, and Hispano-Suiza A very special thanks to Robert Kou- to be owned by all in the working class), (mostly for European royalty), also be- mans and his contributing editors and its designer will go down in the annals of came the exclusive distributor of Rolls- guest writers at www.coachbuild.com, history as possibly the greatest coach Royce and Bentley vehicles in Germany. who were an invaluable resource in writ- builder and versatile designer and engineer Also notable were the Karosserie ing this article – please make a point of that ever lived. Rometsch, Carosserie Schebera, and the visiting this fabulous website! Spohn Karosserie, which boasted some of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche was in fact of Note: All bibliographic material Austrian descent, but is typically recog- the most creative and weird amalgama- tions of fiberglass and steel bodies, usually listed here is available at the Automotive nized as a German designer (mostly due to Research Library of the HCFI.