Published: August 17, 2020, 4:25 PM
Updated: August 17, 2020, 8:28 PM
A century of aero progress on display
While aerodynamics are routinely considered in the design of modern cars, it wasn’t always so. An exhibit at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California in 2018 traced aero progress over the past century with a display of real cars that paid tribute to their designers.
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Art Center College of Design
The Art Center school is a primary training ground for many of the world’s top automotive designers. In the fall of 2018, students needed to look no further than the Center’s lobby/showroom exhibit for a lesson in aero design, featuring the works of six important designers.
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Details of Design
While aerodynamic considerations played little part in early vehicle design, they began to have an influence as early as the 1920s. The Art Center exhibit, titled “Details of Design,” invited visitors to examine the work and methods of six designers who created streamlined vehicles from the 1920s through today.
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Paul Jaray - Tatra 77
Chances are, unless you’re an automotive historian or designer, you’ve never heard of Paul Jaray. But you’ve probably seen plenty of cars that benefit from his work. Born in Vienna in 1889, he was an engineer, designer, and a pioneer of automotive streamlining.
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Paul Jaray - Tatra 77
The Tatra was the first truly aerodynamically-designed production automobile, although the contemporary Chrysler Airflow was very similar in shape. Jaray, who had patented his design, sued Chrysler for patent infringement and won – although he was awarded only $5,000 in damages.
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Paul Jaray - Tatra 77
Some believe that Ferdinand Porsche’s later Volkswagen design was based on that of the Tatra, and the similarities are obvious.
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Gabriel Voisin – Voisin C25 Aérodyne
From the same era as Jaray, French aviaton pioneer, Gabriel Voisin switched his focus to automobiles following WWI. Naturally, the cars built by his firm, called Avions Voisin, incorporated aircraft influences, culminating in the ultra-luxurious C25 Aérodyne, which made it preview appearance at the 1934 Paris Auto Salon.
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Gabriel Voisin – Voisin C25 Aérodyne
Voisin himself designed the C25 Aérodyne, of which only seven were completed. It incorporated an airfoil shape with a rounded profile that extended from top of the windshield to the rear bumper. A rail system at the edges of the roof-line allow it to slide rearward, opening the passenger compartment to the sky. Design details include portholes in the roof that align wit the rear window to provide rear vision when the roof is open.
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Giuseppe Figoni – Delahaye 135 M
Some of the most beautiful cars ever created were products of the French coach-builders of the immediate pre-WWII period. Prominent among them was Figoni et Falaschi of Paris and Italian-born Giuseppe Figoni was the designer half of the partnership. Delahayes of the period were among his favoured canvases.
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Giuseppe Figoni – Delahaye 135 M
Figoni’s streamlined forms, while inspired by aircraft designs, were defined not by the strict science of aerodynamics but by the flowing beauty of the French curve, as exemplified by this coach-built Delahaye 135 M short-wheelbase coupe, which was the star attraction on the Delahaye stand at the 1936 Paris Auto Salon.
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Georges Paulin – Peugeot 302 DS Darl'mat Cabriolet
Georges Paulin was a Parisian dentist who also happened to be a gifted automobile designer for the coach-building firm Carrosserie Portout. Considered by some to be the leading French Stylist of his time, he sought “aerodynamic efficiencies in his designs, which included a line of Darl'mat Peugeot roadsters designed to compete at Le Mans in 1937.
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Georges Paulin – Peugeot 302 DS Darl'mat Cabriolet
The 302 DS was a collaboration by Paulin, Marcel Pourtout and Emile Darl’mat, a Peugeot dealer with a small specialty-car construction business. This car is one of 32 DS Cabriolets built by Portout. Its narrow body-work was derived in part from wind-tunnel testing, in line with Streamline Moderne aesthetic principles. The porthole air intakes are a Darl’mat signature.
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Peter Brock – Brock Coupe
Peter Brock is an Art Center alumnus and instructor whose initial sketches led to the design of the original Corvette Sting Ray. Subsequently, he was the sole designer of the Shelby Daytona Coupe, which won its class at Le Mans in 1964 and propelled Shelby to the FIA GT World Championship in 1965. The streamlined coupe body was said to increase the Cobra’s top speed by at least 20 mph.
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Peter Brock – Brock Coupe
This car, called the Brock Coupe (also known as the Superformance Shelby Daytona Coupe) is the only licensed recreation of the original Shelby Daytona Coupe. Like the original, it was designed by Peter Brock. Built by Superformance in South, Africa, it is the only Shelby Daytona coupe, other than the original half-dozen cars, eligible for the official Shelby Registry as a “continuation” car.
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Frank Stephenson – McLaren P1
Frank Stephenson is an Art Center alumnus whose career has included stints at Ford, BMW, Mini, Maserati, Fiat and Ferrari, before becoming Design Director at McLaren Automotive, from 2008 to 2017. During that period he oversaw the design of the McLaren P1 hypercar, which is one of the sleekest cars of the modern era in appearance.
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Frank Stephenson – McLaren P1
The P1 was a collaboration between designers and engineers to create a functional body form in sync with the car’s aerodynamic needs. The team’s focus was on using surface drag to keep the car planted on the ground. It is said to take design cues from nature, such as the delicate musculature of cheetahs.
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Hanbin Youn – Faraday Future FFZERO1 Concept
Hanbin Youn is an Art Center Alumnus who gained experience at Hyundai, Volkswagen and Honda before becoming Lead Exterior Designer at the startup electric car company Faraday Future. While that company’s plans are currently on hold, Youn and his team did produce a futuristic electric concept car called FFZERO1.
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Hanbin Youn – Faraday Future FFZERO1 Concept
The FFZERO1 Concept is a single-seat, futuristic race-car design that incorporates a unique aero-tunnel system for cooling the electric vehicle’s batteries, as well as reducing drag. It is intended to be an exploration of ideas and there are no plans to produce it.
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