These Art Deco Cars Haven’t Lost Their Charm
Car design is a form of art just like the art you see in museums or on big movie screens. Designing a car takes precision, focus, and an artistic eye. In the 1920s and 1930s, the art deco movement began and continued on. This aesthetic movement is characterized by precise and boldly delineated geometric shapes and strong colors. It's about showing off your car's personality.
These decorative cars take riding in style to a whole other level. Keep reading to see some of the sleekest and sophisticated cars to come out of the past century.
The 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe Looks Like A Literal Gem
The Aerolithe was built and designed by Jean Bugatti in 1935. This light, 2-door car was only on the market until 1936. It survived for one year before it's odd shape deterred potential buyers.
Aerolithe, meaning "meteorite" came from the French phrase "Rapide come one aerolithe" which means "Fast as a meteorite." There were only four Aerolithe's ever built. In 2008, The Guild, a Canadian car restoration team, created an exact replica of this stunning car.
The Ford Model 40 Special Speedster Is A Trip Down Memory Lane
In 1934, Ford Edsel designed the Ford Model 40 Special Speedster. This car was supposed to look like traditional '30s European race cars. It had a low and rectangular design.
Not many 40 Special Speedsters have been seen in recent years. A car like this doesn't resurface all too often. It was seen in 1954 in Florida after being sold for $603 and was last seen in 2008 at a Texas car auction where it sold for $1.76 million to a car collector.
The 1936 Auburn Boattail Speedster Looks Like An Old School Racer
This unique looking car was created by the Auburn Automobile Company after their sales dipped down in 1924. Errett Cord and James Crawford came up with the design for the Auburn Speedster.
If you were looking for a car with a racecar look, but a closed car feel in the late 1920s and early 1930s, this was the car for you. Its iconic feature, the boattail, would soon be copied by other manufacturers and put on models including the 1963-1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and the 1971-1973 Buick Riviera.
The 1925 Rolls Royce Phantom I Aerodynamic Coupe Looks Like A Batman Car
The Rolls Royce really is the Rolls Royce of cars, and this Phantom is no exception. The Phantom was extremely well received in its day, but it was also extremely limited in availability. This was definitely an exclusive car.
The Phantom was fitted with a 6-cylinder engine and four-speed transmission. It had round doors, half-moon windows, and twin sunroofs. And it was notoriously quiet and made little road noise while still being able to travel at 100 mph.
The 1953 Kurtis 500S Roadster Raced With The Best Of 'Em
There were only ever 20 units of the Kurtis 500S Roadster ever produced, but that just makes any cars that survived the '50s all the more valuable. Kurtis built the 500S completely from scratch by himself in his body shop. He used spare car parts to create his Frankenstein vehicle.
The 500S Roadster was compared to other 1950 models made by notable manufacturers including Jaguar, Mercedes, and Ferrari and was raced alongside some of their best models at the time.
The 1956 Nash Ambassador Could Be Customized
Nash really outdid themselves with the Nash Ambassador. This car was manufactured from Nash and later American Motors from 1932 to 1974. Even today, the Ambassador is still used as a showcase model. This car is absolutely gorgeous. It is also very, very expensive.
The Ambassador was bought and driven by royal families in the 1950s. Most royals had their Ambassadors totally customized to suit their needs and preferences. We think this royal blue car is rather eye-catching.
The 1950 GM Futurliner "Parade of Progress" Tour Bus
The 1950 GM Futurliner came with a built-in stage that popped out of the side of the vehicle. That feature made it perfect for events. This bus was custom designed by Harley Earl during General Motor's Parade to Progress. The Futurliner was 33 feet long, 11 feet tall, and weighed over 12 tons.
There were 12 Futurliners ever built, and all of them were built in 1939. Only 9 of them remain in the world today.
The 1937 Delahaye 145 Chapron Coupe Was As Shiny As Ever
The French and the Italian were always competing to create the best, most luxurious vehicles. The Chapron Coupe was designed by Delahaye as part of a countrywide challenge to come up with a French manufactured vehicle that could race and compete with Italian sports cars.
Delahaye decided to install a supercharged engine into the car, which was a 3.5-L 6-cylinder engine at that time. Produced by Chapron, there were only 2 of the 145 vehicles made in 1937.
The 1939 Lancia Astura IV Touring Lasted For 8 Years
Many of these art deco cars weren't produced for very long. The Lancia Asura was no exception. Still, this Italian car managed to stay on the market for eight whole years from 1931-1939. That's no small feat considering many of the other cars on this list only ever produced a handful of units.
Overall there were just over 3,000 Lancia Asura units built and sold and in 1939 before Lancia ceased production. At its peak, during its third and fourth series, the Astura had a 3.0-L V8 engine that produced 82 horsepower.
The Mercedes-Benz SSK Is Super Rare Today
Designed by Ferdinand Porsche during his time at Mercedes-Benz before going to start his own manufacturing company. The SSK, which stood for "Super Sport Kurz," was a 2-door roadster built in Germany from 1928 to 1932.
The body of the SSK was based on the Model K which had a shorter body length that allowed it to be more agile for racing and handling. Only 40 SSKs were built during its 4-year production span. Out of those roughly only 4 or 5 exist still today.
The Nash Statesman Was Only For Commercial Use
Developed and produced by Nash Automobile from 1950 to 1951, the Statesman was a full-size, mid-level automobile that was designed to be both sturdy and reliable.
From the front, the Statesman was shorter and therefore lighter and easier to handle. Buyers had the option to buy the Statesman at three different trim levels; the Statesman Super, a top of the line Statesman Custom, as well as a fleet-only model, built and designed only for commercial and institutional use.
The Bendix SWC Was Super Innovative
The Bendix SWC was a hand-built 4-door sedan designed and built by Alfred Ney in 1934 by the Bendix Corporation. During it's time it, the SWC was considered innovative because of its unique features such as front-wheel drive and four-wheel independent suspension.
The SWC was never mass-produced or marketed due to the company's feigning stock market value and the expensive and wasteful lifestyle of Bendix's CEO and the project was eventually scrapped altogether.
The 1935 LaSalle Was Discontinued
The LaSalle was an American brand that was part of the luxury automobiles division of General Motors Cadillac and was produced from 1927 to 1940.
The idea behind the LaSalle was that it was a companion to the Cadillac that came at a lower price point to make it more appealing to buyers. Eventually, General Motors decided that they would combine the LaSalle models into the Cadillac lineup and the LaSalle name was discontinued in 1941 to fully become Cadillac.
The 1939 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Labourdette Vutotal Cabriolet Was Very Popular With The Public
One of the most expensive cars of its time with the body alone costing over $44,000, the Phantom III was one of the most daring models to ever come out of a Rolls Royce factory.
The car first premiered at the Brussels, Geneva, London and eventually came to the New York Fair in 1939 and was well received by the public. The last car was designed and produced by Labourdette of Paris in 1947 on commission from Louis Ritter.
The 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6 Had Special Brakes
The H6 was a luxury car produced by Hispano-Suiza in France whose design was based on Marc Birkigt's aircraft engine designs. One of the H6's most notable features includes its brakes which were the first of their kind and were driven with a special shaft from the transmission with a power assist.
Buyers had the option of purchasing the H6B which had a more powerful 8.0-liter engine and later Hispano-Suiza would release the J12 which came with a 9.5-litre V12 pushrod engine.
The 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Touring Flying Star Spider Reached Top Speeds
The Alfa Romeo 6C was the name of the road, race and sport models produced by Alfa Romeo from 1927-1954. The name 6C comes from the size of the engine which is a standard 6-cylinder on all of the models.
The 1750 GS Touring was specially made from 1929 to 1933 and was the fastest of all the base models with a top speed of 95 mph though buyers had the option to add a supercharger for more of a boost.
The Lincoln-Zephyr Was Super Aerodynamic
Considered extremely modern when it was introduced to the public in 1935, the Lincoln Zephyr was the lower-priced mid-size entry to the Lincoln lineup. The name "Zephyr" came from the Greek word zephyrus, meaning "god of the west wind" and the car was named after it due to its steamboat aerodynamic presence which differentiated it from Lincoln's previous models that were criticized for being too wind resistant.
Car production came to a screeching halt following the war. Once Lincoln started producing cars again in 1942, they decided to drop the name "Zephyr" and just stuck with Lincoln.
The 1929 Vauxhall Hurlingham Was Totally Customizable
Manufactured by the Vauxhall division of General Motors from 1927 to 1930, the Vauxhall was a lower-end luxury car sold as a coupe, sedan or limousine.
A car for almost every buyer at any price point, the Vauxhall was easily customizable and whether you wanted a family car or a coupe, the Vauxhall had a model and style just for you. The last model, the Vauxhall 80 gave buyers the option to buy more speed with 62 bhp, a 15% increase from the Vauxhall 20-60 models.
There Were Only 12 Units Of The 1948 Talbot-Lago 26 Grand Sport Ever Made
The Talbot-Lago 26 Grand Sport was the brainchild design that was produced as one of the last hopes for a company failing financially. In the year 1948 when the Grand Sport was introduced, only 12 units were made in total.
The engine produced 170 horsepower which garnered the vehicle much praise and attention for its speed. With great horsepower and design came the ability to win races as drivers frequently raced the car in Grands Prix. It even went on to win the Le Mans 24 Hour Race in 1950.
The 1937 Cord 810/812 Had Hidden Headlights
The Cord 810 and 812 were American manufactured from Cord Automobile between 1936 and 1937. This stylish 2-door coupe was the first American car to have front-wheel drive and hidden headlights.
It also had an independent front suspension. In 1937, buyers had the option to get a supercharged model with a V8 engine that had a horsepower of 170.
The 1928 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo Was The Fastest Mass Produced Vehicle
The 1928 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo was a luxury sports car made by the manufacturer Isotta-Fraschini from 1924-1931. It was the fastest mass-produced vehicle in the world at the time and every model came with a powerful straight engine and the promise from Isotta Fraschini that it could do 93 mph.
Being a luxury car, it was expensive and while 950 units were produced in total, only around 1/3 of them made it to the United States.
The 1939 Delage D8 120S Letourneur Et Marchand Aerosport Coupe Was A Response To The Great Depression
Intended as a replacement for the Delage GLS, the D8 was a response to an economy in recovery after the 1929 stock market crash that decimated the auto industry.
It was never designed to sell well and was only used to provide small boosts of sales and momentum for other Delage models to come in later years. The Delage D8-120 got its names from the horsepower that it could produce and eventually stopped being made due to war.
The 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Was Very Lightweight
The Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic was a streamlined coupe based on the 1935 Aerolithe design by Jean Bugatti. Because most of the car was made with Elektron, an extremely lightweight and durable material, it was also very heat resistant and could become flammable.
To combat this, Bugatti engineers used a technique discovered by plane pilots and designers and put the rivets on the car externally thereby creating a seam that the car eventually became known for.
The 1954 Buick Wildcat II Looked Very Futuristic
One of the more radical trim levels of the Buick Wildcat, the Buick Wildcat II was a futuristic model designed under Harley Earl.
The body of the Wildcat II was mostly made out of carbon-fiber and a vinyl-ester resin and was fitted with woodgrain on the interior for a more luxurious feel. The Wildcat II was equipped with a V6 engine and Buick kept a few operational models for themselves that they still own today.
The 1930 Ruxton Model C Raunch and Lang Roadster Wanted To Be Unique
The 1930 Ruxton Model C Raunch and Lang Roadster was a custom body model that was sold form the late 1920's into the 1930s.
Originally starting out as an immigrant blacksmith, Jacob J. Rauch wanted to design a car that was not only unique but was also something that he could mass produce. Together, Rauch and Charles E.J. Lang made carriages and ice wagons until they decided to make a commercial model to reach a larger market.
The Toyota AA Opened Backwards
The Toyota AA served as Toyota's first passenger production car and was built in 1935 in Japan. The AA was a 4-door sedan whose body was made primarily out of metal on metal with the rear doors opening backward.
It originally had the body design of the DeSoto Airflow with only a few minor tweaks made so Toyota could make it their own. Following the AA model was the AB model which had a convertible cloth roof and rear doors that opened conventionally.
The Hudson Commodore Sold Over 50,000 Units
Hudson Commodore's were the largest models in the Hudson Motor Car Company in 1941 during the Commodore's production run from 1941 to 1952.
Buyers interested in the Commodore had the option of buying it in a convertible, sedan or coupe model and eventually a 2-door pickup model was introduced in the second generation in 1946. Over the course of its production time, over 50,000 units were produced before sales dropped due to competition.
The 1939 ZIS-101 Sport Coupe Was very Limited
A limousine produced and manufactured by Zavod Imeni Stalina, the ZIS-101 Sport Coupe was the sporty two-door model designed by Valentin Nikolaevich Rostkov.
The ZIS-101 was capable of producing 141 horsepower and the engine was a 5.8-liter with a top speed of 101 mph. The ZIS-101 Sport Coupe was an extremely limited model with only 2 units made in total during the cars runtime from 1936 to 1941 with the last model being a convertible.
The 1934 Voisin C27 Aerosport Took Inspiration From Aircrafts
Built in Paris in the 1930s, the Voisin C27 was one of the finest and most expensive cars in France at the time. The designer, Voisin spent years working on aircrafts before he began designing vehicles and took some of his best practices with him.
The C27 was incredibly distinct because of its metallic features and body which was mostly made out of durable lightweight metal. It was made only as a limited production and few still exist today.
The 1932 Chevy Moonlight Speedster Was Made Out Of Wood
Produced for the Australian market, this 2-door speedster coupe was designed to look and feel like a luxurious spacious boat ride.
Its body was made out of wood and sold between 1931 and 1932 and only 10 models were made in between that time. Its key design was based off the 1929 Vauxhall Hurlingham and further constructed with hand-formed aluminum. The Chevy Moonlight had an in-line 6-cylinder engine that produced a little over 60 mph.
The 1952 Maverick Sportster Was The World's First Fiberglass Bodied Car
Marketed as the "world's first fiberglass-bodied car," the 1952 Maverick Sportster was a majestic streamline sports car designed by H. Sterling "Smoke" Gladwin Jr. who was not only a retired aeronautical engineer but who had also worked at Boeing, NASA, and Lockheed throughout his career.
Gladwin initially built the Sportster for himself when using fiberglass to build car bodies began to pick up in popularity. Gladwin sold the Sportster as either a kit that could be put together by the buyer or fully assembled.
The 1935 Stout Scarab Kind of Looks Like A Beetle
An American minivan, the Stout Scarab was one of the world's first production minivans and one of the world's first cars with a fiberglass body shell and air suspension.
Designed by William B. Stout who was an engineer and journalist himself, the idea of the Scarab was for it be an office on wheels. Sold in small batches, the Scarab started at $5,000 which made it out of reach for most buyers as the average car price at the time was roughly $1,345.
The 1936 Delahaye 135 Competition Court Figoni et Falaschi Coupe Was Made For Racing
Also known as the "Coupe des Alpes", the Delahaye was a luxury car manufactured by Delahaye from 1935-1954 with just over 2,000 units built in total under designer Jean Francois. The 135 Competition Court had significantly more horsepower and was used predominantly for racing and show.
The body was long and sporty with a wider wheelbase for better handling and control. At the race track, the Delahaye 135 was a successful racer winning both the Monte Carlo Rally as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1938.
The 1938 Peugeot 402 Pourtout Darl'Mat Roadster Was A Popular Sedan
With a bold body style reminiscent of the Chrysler Airflow and a standout headlight and grille that set it apart, the Peugeot 402 was a popular 4-door sedan produced from 1935-1942 under Peugeot SA.
The 402 was a large car and included new tempting features including electric twin windshield wipers, a clock on the instrument panel, and two sun visors which only boosted its popularity among buyers. Even with having sold over 75,000 units, Peugeot SA shifted its focus to smaller cars following WWII.
The 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Speciale Teardrop Coupe Was A Great Racer
Considered one of the world's most beautiful cars, the Teardrop Coupe was a limited production entry made especially for the richest car buyers in the market. The Teardrop Coupe was capable of coming to an abrupt stop from 100 mph and was highly competitive on the racetrack.
It had a 6-cylinder engine that produced 140 bhp, won the Spa 24 Hour Race in 1948, and is considered one of the most valuable cars in the world because it combines both on the road performance and art-deco elegance.
The Volvo PV 36 Carioca Had A Modest Engine
The Volvo PV 36 Carioca was a 4-door saloon luxury car manufactured by Volvo Cars from 1935 to 1938. Built in Sweden, the car's design was heavily influenced by North American body style trends such as the Chrysler Airflow.
An expensive car, only 500 units were produced over its 3-year production run starting at 8,500 kronor. While it wasn't one of the fastest cars on the road, the Carioca had a modest 3.7-L engine and a 3-speed manual and was ideal for the everyday driver looking for a luxury experience.
The Chrysler Airflow Went With The Wind
Ultimately an overall commercial failure, the Chrysler Airflow was the first full-size American production car to use streamlining in its body design. It would go on to disrupt the car industry and forever change the trajectory of how cars were built from then on out.
Engineers Carl Breer, Fred Zader, and Owen Skelton wanted to find the most efficient shape for a car that would also allow it to be aerodynamic as well. The Airflow was what they came up with.
The 1937 Foose Custom Studebaker Convertible Was Designed By A Young Man
Studebaker was known for making luxury full-size vehicles from the 1920s to the 1950s. Chip Foose, the designer of the convertible was one of the youngest people ever to get inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame because of his inspiring and quintessential custom car builds.
Under the hood of the car, the Studebaker engine based off of the Chevy Corvettes produced 345 horsepower with a 4-speed transmission. It was considered revolutionary at the time.
The 1938 Phantom Corsair Didn't Have Door Handles
The Phantom Corsair was a 2-door sedan manufactured in Pasadena, California under Rust Heinz and Maurice Schwartz. Despite having only two doors, the Corsair could hold up to 6 passengers and even had on-board beverage cabinets.
On the outside, the car had unique features such as flush fenders and running boards, doors that lacked handles and were instead opened electrically using push buttons, and skirted wheels. Due to the accidental death of Rust Heinz in 1939, the car never made it to full production and only one exists.
The 1931 Duesenberg Model J Derham Tourster Was Super Luxurious
Designed to compete with some of the most luxurious and powerful cars in the world, the Duesenberg Model J was a full-size luxury car manufactured by Duesenberg in the US from 1928 to 1937.
In addition to the straight-8 DOHC 7-liter engine, the buyer was able to custom design their own body style as each was personally made. Duesenberg ceased production in 1937 due to the financial collapse of the company but surviving models were still sold with the most recent sold at a private in 2018 for $22 million dollars.
