Artistic Styling Renderings in Bob Gurr's 1955 Car Styling Book

In 1955 when I was in high school, wanting to become an automobile stylist, R.H. Gurr authored a book on the subject.  I quickly bought it, and it remains in my library.   For more information regarding it, along with a gallery of the illustrations it contained, go to the Dean's Garage website link here.

As it happened, I never became close to designing cars, lacking the imagination and motor skills to create decent illustrations.  That is, I would have quickly washed out of any design school.

As for the book, as you will find at the link, it contained a large numnber of car design sketches and renderings.  A few of those greatly impressed me at the time, and still do.

I need to note that by the mid-1950s, most such illustrations were made using tools long-since abandoned by the profession.  They are not comparable to the current illustration style and technology.  The best might have been unnecessarily good, because their purpose was simply to display features of an automobile design.  Still, an impressive presentation might go far to "sell" a design -- depending on the taste of the executives doing evaluations.

The designers featured below are Ron Hill and Richard Tatge.  Hill had a long, successful career at General Motors.  Tatge seems to have dropped out of sight in the car styling world, but he had the skill set to become an illustrator -- commercial or technical.  The images below, with one slight exception, appeared in Gurr's book.

Gallery

First are three racing car designs by Hill.

My interest here is the quality of the artwork, not that of the designs.

I've always really liked this illustration of a proposed Bugatti.  In reality, the Bugatti firm ceased car production in 1952, probably before he made this rendering.  So Hill was simply having imaginative fun here.

Now for some works by Tatge.  All are of a gas turbine propelled racing car and variations.  The top band show a transition from racing car to production convertible.  The lower image is of a coupe that might have evolved in the same manner.

Another view of the same turbine race car.  Note Tatge's skill in portraying the technician.  Many car stylists were very poor at depicting people, but nevertheless often included them in their renderings.

Not in Gurr's book, here is the original color rendering.  Very impressive.