DESOTO AIRFLOW CAST MODEL DRIVER

The ongoing experimentation indicated that a teardrop shape would be the most aerodynamic. Aimed with back to the wind, this oddball experimental DeSoto provided better gas mileage and higher cruising speeds! Armed with the results of this testing, the styling department went to work. In 1933 the engineers modified a DeSoto sedan to drive backwards. Their conclusion was that cars of the time were ‘backwards’! The Chrysler engineers even pioneered wind tunnel testing of automobiles, with none other than Orville Wright (of the Wright Brother’s fame) manning the controls. The high grills, squared-off lines, and long fenders and hoods were limiting economy and top speeds.

Carl Breer, Fred Zeder and Owen Skelton, brought over from Maxwell by Walter P himself!) were convinced that there was something wrong with the contemporary car designs. Throughout this time, the Chrysler/DeSoto engineers (sometime called the Three Musketeers. But it serves my purpose to show how much alike the Divco and the Airflow Car Grilles, headlights, windshields and roof lines looked so much alike. By the end of 1937, the Airflow design was gone in the Chrysler and 1936 in the DeSoto. It ended up that the public wasn’t ready for all this in one drastic model year.

DESOTO AIRFLOW CAST MODEL DRIVER

There was a new innovation that allowed the driver to shift the transmission without using the clutch. This included the first rear seat that was mounted forward of the rear axle instead of sitting over the rear axle. The 1934 DeSoto and Chrysler Airflow cars had 25 major changes that included the looks, ride, power and driving. To achieve the best mileage and horsepower, the engineers came up with this design.

This test showed that the 1930 DeSoto was more aerodynamic if the body was turned around on the chassis and ran backwards. Both vehicles were designed and tested in the wind tunnel owned by Wilbur Wright. The reason I had interest in the car was because of the aerodynamic styling that looks a lot like the front end of a Divco delivery truck. They have been compared to the Lincolns as the futuristic designed cars along with the high-speed trains of the 1930s & 1940s as well as the aerodynamic designs of the airplane industry. They have been in articles written for the Lincoln Zephyr Newsletter. I saw pictures of them and read articles about them. I never saw a Chrysler and/or DeSoto Airflow car in person until I saw this car.

Desoto airflow cast model