Monday, March 7, 2022

Want to Look Sporty? Chop the Greenhouse

"Greenhouse" is a styling term referring to the part of a car's passenger compartment above the beltline where the windshield and other windows are.

Typically, the greenhouse is fairly tall, comprising more than a third of total body height.  This sort of proportion tends to work against any "sportiness" that stylists might wish to impart to a design.

An alternative is to reduce that proportion.  The price paid might be cramped headroom for passengers and reduced outside visibility for the driver.

Below are examples to serve as food for your thoughts.

Gallery


1953 Pegaso Z 102 Berinetta by Touring
This is an example of an expensive sporting car by a major Italian coachbuilder.  Its tall greenhouse proportions are fairly typical of Italian 1950s golden age styling.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray
General Motors' sports car also had a comparatively tall greenhouse.

1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS Z28 - Mecum Auction photo
So did the later sporty Camaro.

1931 Voisin C22
Now for examples of short greenhouses.  This Voisin had an underslung chassis and low lower body.  Its greenhouse proportion is low, adding to the racy appearance.

1935 Voisin C28 AĆ©rosport - RM Sotheby's photo
This later Voisin features a more normal lower body height, but the short greenhouse imparts sportiness.

1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico by Vignale
Unlike the Pegaso, this Italian body has a low greenhouse.  Perhaps that's because it's an actual race car.

1952 Hudson Hornet
The famous-in-their-day "step down" Hudson sedans had racy looks due to shaping as well as greenhouse proportions.

2005 Chrysler 300C
Lower bodies were rather brick-shaped, but the low greenhouse counteracted that impression.  I owned one, and can assure you that the windshield was too low for easily viewing close-by stoplights.

2016 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible
I was in Hawaii recently (early 2022) and was struck by the racy, sporty look of the plentiful Mustang and Camaro rental convertibles I saw.  Blunt lower bodies are common nowadays thanks to rules by European bureaucrats.  But the extreme windshield rake and very short greenhouse oddly combine to enhance an aggressive, sporty appearance.

2016 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe
The same can be said for the fixed-top version.

1 comment:

  1. Interesting! The 1932 Martin Walter Daimler Double Six 40/50 Sport Saloon comes to mind & I'm sure that there are other examples.

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