Four-Door British "Airline" Sedans

I posted "Gallery of English 'Airline' Designs" here, presenting examples of fastback (or at least rounded) aft end profiles applied to basic 1930s production cars.   The idea was that those less-angular rear ends offered streamlining -- improved aerodynamic efficiency.  In practice, since old-style front ends were essentially retained, such improvement was probably minimal.  Basically, it was a styling fad.

The majority of British "Airline" cars were two-door models, though I did discuss the 4-door 1935 Clémont-Talbot 105 Airline Saloon here, and the 1938 Riley 16/4 2.5-litre Kestrel Blue Streak Six-Light here.

Today's post presents a larger collection of four-door Airline designs.

Gallery

1936 Riley Kestrel Six-Light Saloon - HandH Auctions photo
Given the need for rear doors and headroom for back-seat passengers, 4-door Airlines were seldom as sleek as many of the 2-door variety.  That said, another factor was wheelbase; short-wheelbase 2-door Airlines also lacked sleekness.  Rileys were sporty cars, hence the long hood seen here.  But the passenger compartment was fairly compact and set aft, so the car's profile is smoothly curved, but not what I consider sleek.  The term "six-light" is the British version of "six-window" in American.

1938c. Standard Flying Twenty - publicity image
Mid-1930s 4-door British and French sedans tended to feature beltlines that fell off towards the rear.  Details varied, as can be seen in the image collection here.  The only exception is the Rover shown three images below.

1935 Talbot (British) Airline Saloon - car-for-sale photo
As mentioned above, I dealt with this car in a previous post.  Back seat headroom seems limited, but results in the sleekest profile shown.

1937 British Salmson by Whittingham & Mitchell - publicity image
Another British offshoot of a French brand.  This is the one side view I could find. This car has the most vertical aft profile of the set pictured here.

1934 Rover Speed 14 Streamline "Coupé" - Bonhams photo
Marketed as a "Coupé, the body type is what I would call a close-coupled sedan.  The reason for that curious "coupé" designation was that Rover also offered a 14 Streamline Saloon.  It had a boxier body than the Coupé's, but at least featured a rounded aft profile.  Details: this car is a "four-light," whereas the saloon was a "six-light."

1935 Bentley 3.5 Litre Aerodynamic Saloon by Rippon Brothers - Bonhams
Another "four-light" design.  Falling-off beltline yields a large rear-door window.  The aft profile is a subtle S-curve, adding a touch more sleekness.

1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Streamlined Saloon by Park Ward - Gooding photo
Long wheelbase, considerable sleekness on this early (1934) Airline-type design.  Magnificent.  I wrote about it here.

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.

1935 Clément-Talbot 105 Airline Saloon

An interesting British 1930s body type was the Airline.  Typically, these were coupés with normal, production front ends with their rear profiles rounded down, giving the design an aerodynamic appearance.  Those front ends with items such as fenders and headlights detached from the main car body along with vertical or nearly-vertical grilles and windshields were not aerodynamically efficient at all, so the rear-end refinement was essentially functionally worthless.

That said, Airline style cars could be sportily attractive if they were long enough; stubby Airline cars usually weren't beautiful.

The subject of this post is a 1935 Talbot 105 Airline Saloon - a four-door car.   Clément-Talbot 105s for 1935 had a 120-inch (3048 mm) wheelbase, so were long enough to create an attractive Airline profile.   This car was one of 39 built, being sold in December 1935, nearly a year after Clément-Talbot was purchased by the Rootes Group.

I wrote about another fine Airline-style car here.  It was a retro- Triumph Gloria Airline Coupé.  Retro, in that no original ones exist, and this one was a new, carefully-researched, duplicate body placed on an available Triumph chassis.

Today's subject is a very attractive Airline, remarkable because it's a saloon and not a coupé -- saloons usually being inherently less sporting than coupés due to their need for rear-seat headroom and the added length required for rear-seat doors.

Images below are of a car listed for sale by The Classic Motor Hub in England.

Gallery

The front is classic 1930s British.

Airline style begins just forward of the cowling.

Doors are hinged on a slightly raked-back B-pillar.  The windshield slope is strong for 1935 and provides a dab of aerodynamic efficiency.  Note the fadeaway character line running across the doors.

The rear fender side fold is slightly concave, contrasting with the slightly convex trunk curve, a nice juxtaposition also seen on other English cars.

The backlight window is nice and large, though two panes were required in those non-curved car window glass days.

Spatted rear wheel openings were popular "streamlining" detail in the 1930s.  They are avoided here, and might have made the design seem heavier.

The beltline curves downward to the rear, a fairly common 1930s styling fashion, especially in France, but also in England.  Note the shape of the rear door -- cramped by the fastback roof and rear fender.

An exciting, sporty design, especially for a four-door car.

The cockpit has plenty of English wood and leather.  Instruments are in the center to make right or left steering wheel placement easier.

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.