page_title: Benjamin Bowden
section_title: The Classic
hierarchical_section_title: Benjamin Bowden / Bicycle design / The Classic
caption_attribution_description: English: Benjamin G. Bowdens Spacelander Bicycle, made in 1946. More information: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/2587/Spacelander_Bicycle#Deutsch: Benjamin G. Bowdens Spacelander Fahrrad aus dem Jahr 1946. Mehr Informationen: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/2587/Spacelander_Bicycle#
context_page_description: Benjamin George Bowden was a British industrial designer, who is known mostly for his work on automobiles and bicycles. Bowden designed the coachwork of Healey's Elliott, an influential British sports car. He was also the designer of the Spacelander, a space-age bicycle which was commercially unsuccessful when in production, but has since become a collector's item.
context_section_description: For the 1946 exhibition Britain Can Make It, Bowden submitted a design for a highly streamlined bicycle which he named the Classic. The bicycle was constructed of pressed aluminium and featured a driveshaft and a hub dynamo that stored energy when riding downhill and gave a boost when riding uphill. Although the bicycle's unusual appearance created substantial public interest initially, British bicycle makers were reluctant to invest in the high degree of re-tooling needed to manufacture the bicycle. In 1949 Bowden pursued the possibility of having the Classic manufactured in South Africa, but, according to Bowden, abrupt changes in South African import policy prevented that plan from materializing.
caption: The Bowden Spacelander bicycle, prototype designed in 1946; manufactured 1960. Brooklyn Museum
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