Riley Nine Early-Mid-1930s Closed-Body Styles

During the 1930s, British carmaker Riley had a sporting reputation.  It offered three four-cylinder motors of various sizes along with other types, as mentioned here (scroll down to the "Riley (Coventry) Limited" section).  There also were a number of different body styles.  Most reference material I've read blame this proliferation as a major cause of the firm going into receivership in 1938.

Today's post deals with some early-to-mid 1930s closed body styles on Riley's popular "Nine" series that shared body styles with other Riley series.

The "Nine" refers to the British horsepower tax formula in place in the 1930s (Wikipedia entry here) that was calculated as follows: piston diameter (in inches) squared, times the number of cylinders, then divided by 2.5.  The Riley Nine being in the 9 tax-horsepower class (actual engine horsepower was higher).

In that scheme of things, a Riley Nine was comparatively affordable.  For example, a typical entry-level car was the famous Austin Seven, and a number of firms offered eight tax-horsepower models.  Luxury cars such as Daimlers and Rolls-Royces usually had RAC Treasury ratings of 30 horsepower and higher. The highest-rated Rileys were 16 taxable horsepower.

Below are images of some of Riley's 1930s car bodies as found on the Nine series.

Gallery

1933 Riley Nine Monaco Saloon - car-for-sale photo
Riley bodies the 1930s had some style features that helped to visually identify the brand besides the usual radiator grille.  Here we find side windows with dipped lower frame lines -- something we'll see again.  The top is clad in a fabric of some kind, a feature also found on other Riley models.

The Monaco features a "bustle back," something rare in 1933.

1933 Riley Nine Falcon - via Ashridge Automobiles
The Falcon's lower window frames are also not parallel with the beltline.  No bustle back and no fabric covering on this car.

But the two-segment backlight window has lower framing similar to what we'll be seeing on Kestrel side windows, below.

1934 Riley Nine Lincock Coupé - via Ashridge Automobiles
Here's a coupé, for a change of pace.

Another instance of a divided backlight, but the framing is nearly conventionally rectangular.  But not quite: lower edges are slightly angled.

1933 Riley Nine Kestrel Four-Light - car-for-sale photo
"Four-Light" was the British way of saying "four-window."  Window shapes are far from purely horizontal and vertical.

Note the after passenger compartment roof's panel separator.  This shape is found on other Riley bodies, including the one shown below.

1935 Riley Nine Merlin Saloon - car-for-sale photo
A slightly later design featuring a hint of fastback.  Side windows are less Riley-like than on some of the designs pictured above.

The spare tire is housed in the trunk.  Note the curve of the separation line between fabric roof covering and the lower body: similar to the Kestrel's.

1953 Cadillac Le Mans Concept

A concept car design I've always liked is that of the 1953 Cadillac Le Mans.  Unusually, four were made, the final one with differing appearance.  The basic design is the subject of this post.

Some concept cars are strictly "blue sky" exercises, intended to keep young stylists happy and productive, and/or showing the car-buying public how creative and future-minded the carmaker supposedly is.  Others are less extreme, incorporating some styling and engineering features considered for future production.  Still others fairly closely resemble designs slated for production within the next few model years.  The Cadillac Le Mans is the latter kind.

As the images below reveal, the 1953 Le Mans includes important styling features of the redesigned 1954 Cadillac line.  However, the Le Mans is smaller, its wheelbase being 115 inches (2921 mm) as opposed to 126 inches (3200 mm).  It was also shorter, of course.

In the Gallery below, the Le Mans is compared to '54 Cadillacs.  Photos of it are by General Motors.

Gallery

My subjective ranking of Cadillac front ends has the 1954 design not far behind the classic 1941 model's.  That '54 front is strongly previewed on the Le Mans, but the rear considerably less so.

The Le Mans shown from a lower viewpoint.  Compare to the Cadillac below.

A 1954 Cadillac 62 convertible listed for sale.  From the cowling forward, the cars are the same aside from the Le Mans being sectioned, the removed area located between the headlight assembly and front wheel opening.  Wraparound windshields differ above the A-pillar -- the Le Mans' frame leaning forward in the mode of GM's new 1954 B-body cars (Oldsmobiles and some Buicks).  The Le Mans features a different hood ornament.  Farther aft, both cars have faux- air intakes at the front of the rear fender.  Well, that on the Le Mans might be functional.  The '54's extends from the centerline down to the rocker panel.  This shortens the design visually, but the Cadillac is a long car, so that is not really a problem.  That said, I prefer the Le Mans'.

Despite its shorter wheelbase, the single-seat Le Mans features a long rear deck.

Barrett-Jackson auction photo of a '54 Cadillac 62 convertible.  The only carryovers from the Le Mans are the tail fins and the bumper edges containing exhaust ports.

Another perspective.  The hood seems a little too high compared to the low trunk lid.  I might have raised the latter an inch or two.

Finally, an overhead view, also suggesting the the front and rear are not quite compatible.

Sodomka's Streamlined Czech Cars

Czechoslovakia was the land of streamlined cars in the middle of the 1930s.  The best-known were built by Tatra (some information here).  But Škoda also dabbled in aerodynamics, an example being the 1935 Škoda 935 prototype.

Another Czech aerodynamic actor was the important coachbuilder firm Sodomka.  Its circa-1934-1935 Regent Airspeed type built for Walter is featured below along with a 1937 Škoda 913 Superb with a more conventional version of the same design.

Some other mid-1930s streamliners are included below for added context.

Gallery

1933 Tatra 77 prototype
Streamlined Tatras had their motor in the rear.  This seems to be the earliest of the general shapes shown below.

1935 Škoda 935 prototype
Another rear-engine streamliner from Czechoslovakia.

c.1934-1935 Walter Regent Airspeed sedan by Sodomka: photo set
Walter Regents had conventional engine-forward layouts.  Note that the B-pillar extends only up to the beltline.  It's hard to see, but the rear door's window is in two segments, the forward one can be rolled down, the after element is fixed in place.  Wheelbase is a long 141.7 inches (3600 mm).

The rear taper is in the same spirit as the Tatra and Škoda prototypes shown above.

The front retains a sloped, yet mostly conventional radiator grille.  Headlight housings are blended into the fenders.

c.1934-1935 Walter Regent Airspeed cabriolet by Sodomka
I'm not sure if Sodomka's cabriolet was called an Airspeed, but its lower body essentially matches the sedan's shown above.

Side view.  Compare the fender design to those seen in the following images.

1935 Renault Vivastella Grand Sport

Scan segment of page 78 from Toutes les Voitures Françaises 1935: Le Salon 1934. These six-cylinder Renaults and the eight-cylinder Nervastella Grand Sport with its longer hood were announced at the 1934 Paris automobile show that opened 14 October.  Fenders and frontal styling are similar to Sodomka's contemporaneous Airspeeds.  If the Airspeed was designed and built in 1934, then we seem to have a case of what's called "simultaneous invention" such as the calculus by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz.  But if the Airspeed was truly a 1935 production, then it's possible that the folks at Sodomka were aware of the new Renault design and borrowed some of its features. 

1937 Škoda Superb 913 sedan by Sodomka
This later Sodomka streamliner has the same general fenderline character as the Airspeeds and Renaults, though the rear fender is almost entirely blended into the side of the car.  The rear door's window is also split into two segments, the forward one retractable.  Again, the design is "pillarless."

Studebaker Avanti Walkaround

I took the above photos in May of 1963.  The setting was North Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland.  I was in the Army, stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland and would come to Baltimore on weekends to visit a nursing-student girlfriend.

I first learned of Studebaker's Avanti on 26 April 1962 or maybe a day later when the New York Times had a photo of it.  (At that time I was at the Army Information School, Fort Slocum, New York.)  I was captivated.  And remain so.

My previous Avanti post is here, and the Wikipedia entry is here.  It notes: "Designed by Raymond Loewy's team of Tom Kellogg, Bob Andrews, and John Ebstein on a 40-day crash program, the Avanti featured a radical fiberglass body mounted on a modified Studebaker Lark 109-inch [2769 mm] convertible chassis and powered by a modified 289 Hawk engine.  A Paxton supercharger was offered as an option."

The Avanti design is classic, and any criticism I might make would be nit-picking.

Gallery

1962 Studebaker Avanti - publicity photo (cropped)
Studebaker sent an Avanti to Palm Springs, California for a photo shoot.  Raymond Loewy had a house in Palm Springs, and the Avanti was designed there.

1963 Studebaker Avanti R1 - car-for-sale photos
The walkaround photos below do not include side views, so here are two nice ones I found on the Internet.

Avantis had flowing, sculpted lines aside from a few functional details such as the B-pillar.  Note that the beltline and fenderline are the same.

1963 Studebaker Avanti R1 - Hyman Ltd. photo set
The grille opening position below the bumper was innovative for American cars in those days.  The only previous example that comes to mind was the 1949 Crosley Hotshot sports car.

Styling was unlike anything seen on previous Studebakers.  The only visual brand continuity was its boldness in the spirit of Studebaker's 1947 Starlight Coupes and 1953 Starliner Coupes.

I selected this Hyman image set because, unlike most other sets on the Internet, wide-angle camera lenses were not used.  Wide-angle lenses distort shapes too much, so these Hyman photos present the design more realistically, especially in quarter-views such as this.

The least-attractive Avanti aspect, what with the clutter below the bumper.  Rear lights were simple, probably to save development and production costs.

The vertical nose crease is echoed by the side character line.  Very subtle, very nice.

1963 Studebaker Avanti R2 - BaT Auctions photo
This reveals the grille more clearly.  Due to its sunken position, it is essentially invisible to casual viewers.

Chrysler Corporation Grille Designs 1940-1942

I have written posts touching on early-1940s Chrysler Corporation styling.  These often included mention of grille designs.  Today's post focuses on those designs, noting that 1942 grilles were quite different from those of the previous two model years.

One possible factor was that styling director Ray Dietrich was eased out of his job in 1940 following the death of Walter P. Chrysler.  He was replaced by Bob Cadwallader, more an administrator than a stylist.  Cadwallader's influence became strongly manifested in those 1942 grille designs.   However, both men were subservient to Chrysler's engineering leaders, unlike, say, Harley Earl's dominant position at General Motors.  So assigning credit or blame regarding Chrysler styling in those days is more difficult than at, say, GM or Ford.

Another factor regarding those 1942 grilles is that the basic car body design appeared for the 1940 model year.  By 1942, it was time for a stronger facelift.  Yet another consideration is grille design fashions.  The late 1930s and early 1940s saw American grille orientation moving from vertical to horizontal for most car brands.  As shown below, Chrysler followed that trend to the point where especially DeSoto and Chrysler grilles were even more horizontal than the norm for those days.

Post- World War 2 Chrysler brands were given redesigned grilles.  Those designs remained essentially untouched through the early part of the 1949 model year, thanks to the postwar seller's market for automobiles.

Gallery

1940 Plymouth DeLuxe 4-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
A simple design featuring horizontal chrome strips punctuated by a vertical "prow" divider.

1941 Plymouth Special DeLuxe Coupe - BaT Auctions photo
The 1941 facelift featured curved framing.

1942 Plymouth Special DeLuxe Coupe - car-for-sale photo
Considerable front-end reshaping for '42 including moving the headlights slightly inbound.  Stronger grille bars extending over a wider area while upper framing covers part of the previous prow.

1940 Dodge 4-door sedaan - car-for-sale photo
Curved framing for thin bars overlapping the prow area.  There's a mid-level band of painted sheetmetal.

1941 Dodge Custom 4-door sedan - Mecum Auctions photo
The prow returns while the framing assumes a different shape.  Clearly more horizontal than the centralized '40 design.

1942 Dodge Custom Convertible - Mecum
Headlights move towards the center while the grille becomes bolder, more geometrically framed.  Thin vertical bars are set behind the horizontal bar creating a subtle "egg crate" effect.  Bars flow over the prow.

1940 DeSoto Touring Sedan car-for-sale photo
Curved framing similar in spirit to the '40 Dodge and '41 Plymouth.  Extremely thin horizontal bars.  The grille encroaches on the prow, but not quite -- there being a bold, vertical, chromed separator bar.

1941 DeSoto - Auctions America photo
New front fenders.  Grille bars much wider and now vertical (a DeSoto recognition feature that continued through the 1955 model year).

1942 DeSoto DeLuxe 4-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
The Famous 1942 DeSoto front end.  Headlights towards the middle, but covered by doors.  Bold, vertical grille bars topped by a horizontal framing strip that extends across the length of the front fenders.  There's a prow, but it's almost completely obscured.

1940 Chrysler Windsor Convertible VanDerBrink Auctions photo
Somewhat similar to the '40 Plymouth except that the bars flow over the prow.

1941 Chrysler Windsor Highlander Convertible - BaT Auctions
Fewer, thicker bars that extend a short way beyond the sides of the radiator opening.  The prow is now emphasized by a vertical chromed bar.

1942 Chrysler Windsor Coupe - car-for-sale photo
Another famous grille design.  Again, headlights more centered, the prow de-emphasized.  Here the grille bars wrap all the way around the fender to the wheel opening while the upper frame continues the length of the fender.

Austin-Healey's Limited Styling Evolution 1953-1967

Although I really liked the styling of the early XK-type Jaguars, the 1950 British sports cars with the styling the young me liked best were Austin-Healeys.  Their Wikipedia entry is here with links to more detailed entries on Austin-Healy 100s, 100-6s and 3000s.  And in 2015 I wrote "Austin-Healey 100: 1950s British Sports Car Styling at Its Best"

As mentioned, there were three main Austin-Healy generation types: the 1953-1956 A-H 100, the 1956-1959 A-H 100-Six, and the 1959-1967 A-H 3000.  Austin-Healey 100 wheelbase was 90 inches (2286 mm), whereas for the A-H 100/6 and 3000 it was 92 inches (2337 mm).  This increase was probably related to the replacement of the inline-four cylinder motor of the A-H 100 by an inline-six.

Over time, some other changes impacting design included replacement of side-curtains with roll-up windows and the addition of tiny back seats to some models.  But those impacts along with facelift details were minor, because the final Austin-Healeys looked largely the same as the first ones.

Gallery

1955 Austin-Healey 100 BN1 Roadster - BaT Auctions photo
Earliest Austin-Healey's had windshields that would fold down, as seen in this photo.  The character line on the side is shorter than those of later models.  The profile is very nice, though note that the peak of the rear fender is slightly aft of the rear axle line (as denoted by the wheel hub).  The profile of the wheel opening is distorted away from the roundedness of the tire so as to better conform to the fender shape.  Very subtle, and probably not noticeable to casual viewers.

1957 Austin-Healey 100-Six - Gooding Auctions photo
The longer character line is seen here.  The added wheelbase probably resulted in lengthening forward of the cowling/firewall.  Note that the front fender seems to curve downward more forward of the aft edge of the wheel opening than that of the A-H 100 in the previous image.  Very subtle.

1967 Austin-Healey Mk. III BJ8 Cabriolet - Gallery Aaldering photo
This shows the extended character line as the division between paint colors on two-tone Austin-Healeys.  This late example car features a bulkier folding top and a raised, chromed belt above the fenderline for roll-up windows.

1954 Austin-Healey 100 Roadster - car-for-sale photo
The grille is a widened version of those found on earlier Healey cars.  Note the knob and track for the fold-down windshield.  The hood strap and louvres are not found on the most basic A-H 100s.

1957 Austin-Healey 100-Six - Gooding Auctions photo
The grille profile is different, as are grille bars.  The raised hood scoop was required due to the added height of the inline six cylinder engine.  The windshield does not fold down.

1967 Austin-Healey Mk. III BJ8 Cabriolet - Gallery Aaldering photo
The 3000 featured a windshield that was wider and more greatly curved than on previous Austin-Healeys.  This required a revised cowling-firewall structure.  Note the different grille bars.

1954 Austin-Healey 100 Roadster - car-for-sale photo
This was a true roadster with side curtains for rain protection (not seen here).

1957 Austin-Healey 100-Six - Gooding Auctions photo
The character line ends at the rear bumper, a professional styling touch.  Turn-signal lights are added to the rear.

1967 Austin-Healey Mk. III BJ8 Cabriolet - Gallery Aaldering photo
Turn-signal lights are enlarged.  One of my college fraternity brothers had a A-H such as this, and I recall that it struck me as looking a bit more massive than earlier Austin-Healeys.  However, all A-Hs had the same width: 60 inches (1924 mm), so that impression was probably due to the styling changes cited above.