Streamlined 1934 Four-Door Rolls-Royce

It seemed like "streamlined" car designs were popping up everywhere around 1934.  Probably the most famous was the '34 Chrysler Corporation Airflow line that had actual wind tunnel input regarding shaping.   Also wind tunnel shaped were the new 1934 Tatra 77s from Czechoslovakia.

Other streamlined cars were "streamlined" in little more than name only.  Today's post considers a spectacular custom-bodied 1934 Rolls-Royce whose general features were in line with streamlining as practiced in England at that time.  I posted about such designs here, and some examples are pictured below.

The featured car is a 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Streamlined Saloon.  It was auctioned a while ago by Gooding, Internet link here.   It notes:

"1934 Olympia Motor Show Car

"Stunning One-Off Streamlined Coachwork by Park Ward Ltd.

"One of Just 281 Phantom II Continentals Built

"Multiple Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Awards"

Gallery photos of it are via Gooding.

Gallery

1934 MG PA Airline Coupe - car-for sale photo
Here are some other English "streamlined" cars pictured to put the Rolls design into context.  "Airline" was a term used in the UK during the 1930s that usually meant a car with a production front end and a rear shaped in an aerodynamic motif.  True aerodynamic efficiency required a wind tunnel tested front.

Triumph Gloria Flow Free - at 1934 motor show
This Triumph was longer that the MG show above, so the body shape is more graceful.  The slanted windshield was slightly more aerodynamically efficient than a vertical windshield would have been.  As best I can tell, most Airline type cars were two-door sedans or coupés -- body types better suited than four-door sedans (saloons).

1935 Talbot Airline Saloon - car-for-sale photo
That said, here is an example of an Airline saloon.  Note that the passenger compartment is "close coupled" -- short, so again suitable for 1934-vintage "streamlining."

1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Streamlined Saloon by Park Ward - Gooding Auction photos
Now for the Rolls-Royce.  Not close-coupled.  Six-light (window) arrangement.  The front fenders (wings) are a curious combination of a cycle-fender with a tapered extension linked to the running board.  Otherwise, the front end is what one would expect to see on a Rolls-Royce of that vintage.

The fastback profile with the thick D-pillar area and trunk (boot) provides a touch of bulkiness.  But the aft side windows and skillful shaping by Park Ward minimize that.  The thrusting front related to the axle line and cycle-fender treatment act as a counterpoise to the rear.  Aside from those odd extensions to the fenders, this is excellent styling for its time.

The car looks sleek in the quarter-view.  The lack of bumpers helps the design's purity.

Overhead view showing tapered shaping that's in line with what tunnel testing would have suggested.  Note that the rear fender forms echo those from up front.

Another overhead view.  Yes, I could nit-pick more details, but the design is so impressive that I won't bother.

Early Austin-Healey Sprites and MG Midgets

I perviously wrote about the Austin-Healey Sprite that appeared in 1958.  In that post I mentioned that:

"When I was a young man I really, really wanted to buy a new sports car.  But being in the army and, later, graduate school, my income made that a marginal proposition.  As a grad student with teaching assistant and summer research pay, I could (barely) afford a later version of the Sprite.  I rejected getting one because I thought it was too small from a safety standpoint, not to mention its limited capacity for carrying things such as suitcases or even groceries.

"As for the first-generation Sprites, the bug-eye feature was an additional turn-off.  They made the car look cheap."

A facelifted Mark II Sprite was launched during the 1961 model year along with a badge-engineered vesion called the MG Midget.  The Wikipedia link for the Sprite is here and that for the Midget is here.

The small size I mentioned is indicated by the wheelbases of those cars throughout their production runs (1958-1971 for the Sprite, 1961-1980 for the Midget): 80 inches (2032 mm).

My thinking notwithstanding, those cars sold well.  From what I gather from the Wikipedia entries (as of December 2023), around 131,000 Sprites were built and Midget production was about 227,000 for an approximate total of 358,000.

Gallery

1958 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk. I - Barrett-Jackson Auctions photo
The original Sprite frontal styling with its "smile" grille and "Bugeye" headlights ("Frogeye" in the UK).  They were intended to be retractable, but it was decided that would add too much to the intended low price.  I think retractable headlights and a different grille would have made that design better.

1958 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk. I - BaT Auctions photo
A simple shape in profile (aside from those headlights) -- a good solution for such a small car.  Note the hood cutline.  The entire front end pivots upwards via hinges at the cowling to allow access to the motor.

1958 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk. I - BaT
Very simple.  So simple that there is no trunk lid.

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk. II - Historics Auctioneers photo
The massive facelift.  Doors cutlines are retained along with the now nonfunctional one between the door and front wheel opening.  The fenderline is new and the frontal design is conventional.

MG Midget Mk. I - factory publicity photo
The Midget was marketed as an upscale Sprite.  Grille bars are vertical rather than a mesh, and that side chrome strip added some visual length to the design.

1963 MG Midget Mk. I - Hampsons Auctions photo
Hoods (bonnets) of Mk. I Sprites and Mk.I Midgets were conventional, rear-hinged.

1963 MG Midget Mk. I - Hampsons
Now there is a trunk lid.  Tail lights on Mk.II Sprites and Midgets are those also used on the new (in 1962) MGB sports car.

1963 MG Midget Mk. I - Hampsons
The facelift left the cockpit nearly untouched.  Compare this dashboard to the Mk. I Sprite's in the the following image.

1961 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk. I - Historics Auctioneers photo

Triumph TR2 and TR3

By the mid-1950s, British sports cars were selling well in the USA.  As I recall it, the price/prestige hierarchy in ascending order was: MG, Triumph, Austin-Healey, Jaguar.

Triumph's first model was the TR2 produced 1953-1955, followed by the TR3 (1955-1962).  I previously wrote about the TR2 in 2014.  Today's post provides more analytical detail.

I never liked the styling of those cars, and was pleased when the redesigned (by Giovanni Michelotti) TR4 emerged in the early 1960s.  Even so, TR2s and 3s were popular thanks to their peppy performance.

In the images below I try to show why I wasn't a TR2/3 fan.

Gallery

1952 MG TD - car-for-sale photo
This was the most popular imported British sports car when the TR2 was designed by Walter Belgrove.  The roadster style featuring cut-down doors was sometimes seen on pre- World War 2 cars, but was mostly found on MG T-series sports cars from 1936 through 1955.

1954 Triumph TR2 - car-for-sale photo
TR2s also had cut-down doors, and the cut was more drastic than on MGs.  So drastic that TR2/3s seemed to be almost chopped in two.  Compare the low-points of the beltlines on this car and the one above to their cowling heights.  The ratio of this cut length to the cowling distance from the lower body edge on the MG is around one-third, whereas on the TR2 it's about one-half.  The rear fender's leading curve pushes close to the cut.  This and the trunk (boot) creates a massive element adjoining the deepest part of the cut, emphasizing the effect of the body being essentially separated front and rear parts.  That is, seemingly "chopped in two."

1953c. Triumph TR2 - publicity photo
Another styling problem is the frontal design, especially the radiator opening where the grille is a grid mounted far inboard.  I suppose functionality purists might defend this, but I think it's ugly.  Those bug-eye headlight assemblies don't enhance the car's appearance either, but were probably inescapable given the front fenderline curve and American headlight height regulations.

1954 Triumph TR2 - car-for-sale photo set
Now for a brief walkaround.  The top edge of the cut-down door is slightly padded, providing an armrest for the driver.  Disregarding that "functionality," a higher front fenderline or beltline would have improved the car's looks.

A final look at TR2 front end styling.

1959 Triumph TR3 - BaT Auctions photo
The TR3 front was mildly facelifted from the TR2.  The conventionally-placed grille is an improvement aided by slight reshaping of its sheetmetal framing.  This should have been used on TR2s.  I suspect it wasn't because the TR2 was a marketing gamble and its front was cheaper to build.

MGA Coupé

This is an update of my 23 October 2014 post about the 1955-1962 MGA titled "MGA: Cautious Step, Uncertain Direction."

My main critique of its styling was:

"The front fender seems a little too long and bland, virtually featureless.  But in the area around the rear of the cockpit, we find a busy set of details -- the rear cockpit curve, the door cut-line, the transition to the rear fender, the rear fender itself, and the wheelhouse and rear wheel.  All this attracts the eye, making the front part of the car seem too long.  It also gives the rear a sort of tacked-on look."

I still hold those views, though my suggested solutions are somewhat different now.

Today's post deals in more detail with the coupé MGA model.  A college fraternity brother owned one, and once we drove across Washington State in it to visit our fraternity chapter at Washington State College (as it was named then).  That was long ago, so I remember little about it.  Given the damp climate in western Washington as well as that of the British Isles, marketing a coupé version made some sense for MG.  One nice feature was that besides having decent weather protection, when inside one didn't see its awkward styling.  (To be fair, the same concept applies to being in a beautiful car.  So apologies for my snark.)

Below I compare the MGA coupé to the basic roadster model.

Gallery

1960 MGA 1600 Roadster - Broad Arrow Auctions photo
The MGA was transitional in its design.  Previous MG sports car styling had its roots in the 1930s, as I discussed here in my post "T-Type MG Roadsters."  MGAs had a similar layout: a long hood and the driver's seating position aft of the center of the car.  Its styling theme was in line with 1950s vintage  sports car fashions.  The MGA was succeeded by the much more modern MGB in 1962.

1960 MGA Coupe - BaT Auctions photo
Coupés got a large, curved windshield.

1960 MGA 1600 Roadster - Broad Arrow
This shows the seating position and the collection of elements seen between the door's aft cutline and the rear wheel opening.  A flowing fenderline without the frontal shape of the rear fender would have looked nicer.

1958 MGA 1500 Coupe - car-for-sale photo
The coupé's elements are concentrated between the cowling and rear axle line, adding even more visual clutter than found on the roadster.  It seems that the design policy was to minimize coupé tooling while maximizing use of roadster tooling.  A better passenger compartment greenhouse design might have had a flatter roof blended into a fastback trunk area.  Instead, we see an awkward looking lump with badly shaped windows.

1960 MGA 1600 Roadster- Broad Arrow
Rear quarter view.

1958 MGA 1500 Coupe - car-for-sale
The backlight window is in three segments with divisions blackened rather than chromed, so as to give the appearance of full wraparound.  But the overall shape -- pulled down at the corners -- adds to the clutter discussed above.  A wider C-pillar (less wraparound) might have helped.  Even so, the design was hopelessly flawed, given the tooling constraints the stylists had to deal with.

The Arnolt-MG

A somewhat obscure (then and now) early-1950s multi-national sporting car was the Arnolt-MG.   Information on "Wacky" Arnolt and his Chicago-based car company is here.  According to the link (as of November 2023):

"The Arnolt MG was designed by Giovanni Bertone, his son Nuccio, and Giovanni Michelotti.  Of a planned production of 200 cars, 103 have been documented as built between 1953 and 1954 (67 coupés and 36 convertibles)....  In 1954, MG informed Arnolt that it could no longer supply chassis and engines due to demand for its own complete cars (as well as the replacement of the TD by the TF), so Arnolt began looking for a larger-engined car."  That became the better-known and flashier Arnolt-Bristol that I wrote about here.

Arnolt-MG styling abaft of the front end was typical of classic 1953 vintage Italian coachbuilder design practice.  Frontal design has a slightly old-fashioned look due to the high, somewhat horizontal hoodline capped by a close variation of the MG grille.

In sum, the design is pleasant, yet not memorable (unlike the Arnold-Bristol's).

Gallery

1955 Arnolt-MG Coupe - Hyman Ltd photo
One of the later Arnolt-MGs, having been first registered in 1955. Note the traditional-looking frontal design.

1955 Arnolt-MG Coupe - Bonhams Auctions photos
The grille features a mesh pattern, unlike the vertical strips found on stock MG TDs.

1952 MG TD - car-for-sale photo
This is the configuration Bertone had to work from.

The driver's position seems about the same.  The hood is longer, as is front and (especially) rear overhang.  The fenderline is slightly below the beltline and has a small up-kick to define the rear fender zone.

From this viewpoint, Arnolt-MG styling is much like many other Italian coachbuilt coupes of the day.

1953 Arnolt-MG Cabriolet - RM Sotheby's Auctions photo
Now for some views of the convertible version.

1954 Arnolt-MG Cabriolet - Mecum Auctions photo

1953 Arnolt-MG Cabriolet - via RM Sotheby's

Gallery of English "Airline" Designs

Around the mid-1930s there was a British styling fad known as the "Airline" body.  Typically, these cars were two-door coupés or saloons (sedans) with rounded rear profiles that suggested streamlining.   Given that front ends were normally strictly stock and aerodynamically messy, those rear ends did little or nothing to improve aerodynamic efficiency.  That said, they are interesting to look at, and serve as counterbalances to normal, conservative British car design examples from before, say, the 1950s.

I discussed Airline design using a particularly nicely-styled example here.

The cars shown in profile below are arranged in ascending price-prestige order.  Exceptions are the final two, which are of special interest.

Gallery

c.1933 Hillman Aero Minx 2-3 Seat Saloon - unknown photo source
A tiny car based on a popular model.  Besides the rounded profile, there are no running boards.

1935 Hillman Aero Minx Cresta Saloon - car-for-sale photo
This four-passenger version has a "pillarless" window arrangement that resembles post- World War 2 "hardtop convertible" styling.  Except the after side window does not roll down, being in effect part of the body structure.

1936 MG PB Airline Coupé - Sussex Sports Cars photo
A two-passenger Airline.

1937 Talbot 10 "Airline" Sport Saloon - Anglia Car Auctions photo
Another "pilarless" Airline.

1935 SS1 20HP Airline Coupé - Bonhams Auctions photo
SS was the predecessor of the Jaguar, whose brand-name appeared on what had been SS cars during 1935, but apparently after this one was built.  A four-passenger car, but with a normal B-pillar.

1935 Rolls-Royce 2-Door Airline Coupé by Barker - Jonathan Wood Restorations photo
A very attractive Airline design.  Note the fashionable drooping beltline also seen on the Minx Cresta and SS1 above.  In each instance, the beltline curve is abaft of the door, as is the roof curve..

Triumph Gloria Flow-free - at 1934 motor show
This is the design I featured in the post linked above.

1935 Talbot 105 Airline 4-Door Saloon - car-for-sale photo
A dramatic design with four doors, not the usual Airline two-doors.

MG SA Saloon - Response to Jaguar

Nowadays, when most folks think of the MG brand, sports cars usually come to mind, though some might also recall smaller sedans of the 1953-1958 Magnette variety.

But in the late 1930s MG built the SA (originally 2-Litre) series on a large, 123-inch (3100 mm) wheelbase.  Some backgound is here.

According to the link, Morris Garages' intention was to combat the increasingly popular SS (soon to be renamed Jaguar) sports sedans.  Around that time, MG was absorbed into Morris Motors and originally planned engineering was abandoned and the SA received many Morris parts including a Wollseley motor that was hopped-up by MG engineers.  Saloons appeared for the 1935 model year, and for 1936 drophead coupe and tourer bodies were added.  Total 1936-1939 production was 2,739.

Gallery

1936c. publicity photo

1938 MG SA Saloon - car-for-sale photo
Like the Jaguar saloons, the hood (bonnet) is long, the roofline low.

1937 MG SA Saloon - photos via RM Sotheby's and Hemmings
Now for an abbreviated walkaround.  Note the traditional MG grille as found on its TA though TF sports cars.

The slant of the windshield is echoed by the front door's forward cutline, the hood cutline and the hood's louvers.

The backlight window came in two segments due to the need to use flat glass panels.  The fabric top section suggests that the body is not all-steel, probably built using current coach builder technology.

The trunk (boot) is integral, the spare tire being attached to the trunk lid.

From this angle (not normally seen under normal conditions), the front end seems light, delicate, and the passenger compartment and rear end looks comparatively heavy.  Since around 1950, most cars have fatter, more blunt front ends, so there's not the contrast we see here.

A handsome car of its time and English place.