Airflows, Large and Smaller

Chrysler Corporation's aerodynamically-influenced Airflow body design was a marketplace failure.  Despite that, it was highly influential in the American automobile industry.  References to Chrysler and DeSoto Airflows are here and here.

One new engineering feature was all-steel bodies (aside from a roof panel) built up from a frame structure attached to what amounted to a chassis.  To put it another way, Airflow bodies approached, but didn't qualify as, unitized construction that since then has become the norm.

At any rate, for launch year 1934 Chrysler produced Airflows in three basic body types (four-door sedans, two-door sedans, and coupes) and for the 4-door sedans, five different wheelbase lengths.  Wheelbases in ascending order are -- DeSoto: 115.5 in (2934 mm); Chrysler CU: 122.8 in (3119 mm); Chrysler Imperial CV: 128.0 in (3251 mm); Chrysler Custom Imperial CX: 137.5 in (3492 mm); and the Chrysler Custom Imperial CW: 146.5 in (3721 mm).

What we have, then, is a wheelbase range of 31 inches (787 mm) -- a huge difference for one line of cars.  Coupling that with the various body types, Chrysler Corporation launched a wide variety of Airflows.  Here are examples.

Gallery

This is a 1934 CU Chrysler Airflow.  It can be considered the baseline model for comparisons.

The largest '34 Airflow was the CW Custom Imperial  8- passenger sedan that featured a curved windshield -- the first for an American production car.

All 1934 DeSotos were Airflows, Chrysler retaining conventional bodies for its 6-cylinder cars.  This is the four-door sedan.

Here is a two-door DeSoto sedan for 1934.

Then there were coupes.  The smallest, due to its short wheelbase was this 1934 DeSoto (Bonhams auction photo).

1934 Chrysler CU, Bonhams photo.

Advertisement photo featuring a 1934 CW Custom Imperial.  The background is the Park Avenue entrance to the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

An in-motion Bonhams auction photo of a '34 DeSoto Airflow Coupe.

A brochure page for the 1934 DeSoto Airflow Coupe.