page_title: Chrysler Airflow
section_title: Genesis of the Airflow project
hierarchical_section_title: Chrysler Airflow / Genesis of the Airflow project
caption_attribution_description: English: restored '34 airflow (owner in hat &amp; glasses), shot at local car show/swap meet
context_page_description: The Chrysler Airflow is a full-size car produced by Chrysler from 1934 to 1937. The Airflow was the first full-size American production car to use streamlining as a basis for building a sleeker automobile, one less susceptible to air resistance. Chrysler made a significant effort at a fundamental change in automotive design with the Chrysler Airflow, but it was ultimately a commercial failure.
  Chrysler also marketed a companion model under the DeSoto brand, the DeSoto Airflow.
context_section_description: Carl Breer, along with fellow Chrysler engineers Fred Zeder and Owen Skelton, began a series of wind tunnel tests, with the cooperation of Orville Wright, to study which forms were the most efficient shape created by nature that could suit an automobile. Chrysler built a wind tunnel at the Highland Park site, and tested at least 50 scale models by April 1930. Their engineers found that then-current 
  two-box automobile design was so aerodynamically inefficient, that it was actually more efficient turned around backwards. Applying what they had learned about shape, the engineers also began looking into unibody construction to achieve rigidity with less weight than could be achieved with the conventional separate frame and body.  The strengthening was demonstrated in a publicity reel.  The car thus represented a breakthrough in lightweight-yet-strong construction as well as increasing the power-to-drag ratio as the lighter, more streamlined body allowed air to flow around it instead of being caught against upright forms such as radiator grilles, headlights and windshields.
  Traditional automobiles of the day were the typical two-box design, with about 65% of the weight over the rear wheels. When loaded with passengers, the weight distribution tended to become further imbalanced, rising to 75% or more over the rear wheels, resulting in unsafe handling characteristics on slippery roads. Spring rates in the rear of traditional vehicles were, therefore, necessarily higher, and passengers were subjected to a harsher ride.
  Innovative weight distribution on the new Chrysler Airflow stemmed from the need for superior handling dynamics. The engine was moved forward over the front wheels compared with traditional automobiles of the time, and passengers were all moved forward so that rear seat passengers were seated within the wheelbase, rather than on top of the rear axle. The weight distribution had approximately 54% of the weight over the front wheels, which evened to near 50–50 with passengers, and resulted in more equal spring rates, better handling, and far superior ride quality.
caption: Front view of a restored '34 Airflow.
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