Alexander Sarantos Tremulis 1914-1991
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Alexander Sarantos Tremulis 1914-1991 |
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| Tremulis, Alexander Sarantos b. January 23, 1914 d. December 29, 1991 Alex Tremulis was certainly one of, and arguably THE greatest automobile designer of all time. Perhaps best known as the sole designer of the ill-fated 1948 Tucker Torpedo, he has many other automotive, railroad, aircraft and spacecraft designs to his credit, including the original design for what evolved into today's space shuttle, and very possibly being the inventor of the term "flying saucer". Alexander Sarantos Tremulis was born in Chicago on January 23, 1914. At the age of 19, and without any formal training in art or engineering, he landed a job on the design team for the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Company in 1933. Among his projects there were the now famous and classic Cord 810 and 812 series, as well as a custom Dusenberg roadster having both convertible and hardtop options. Tremulis became Chief Stylist for Auburn-Cord-Deusenberg in 1936 at the age of 22, and remained in that role until the company failed in 1937. He then went to General Motors, and subsequently to Briggs-Le Baron, who was the coach builder for Chrysler at the time. In 1938, Tremulis worked for Custom Motors in Beverly Hills before consulting with Crosley and American Bantam in 1939. His designs for American Bantam remained in production until the firm switched over completely to the production of military Jeeps prior to World War II. Tremulis’ next work was on the 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt concept car, and the production Packard Clipper. Tremulis enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941. There, he worked on advanced aircraft concepts at Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force base), and developed a concept, which in the 1970s became known as the Boeing Dyna-Soar, a gliding re-entry space vehicle. This project evolved into the present day space shuttle. Also during his tenure in the Air Corps, Tremulis made the first speculative drawings of what extra-terrestrial life forms would use as transportation to visit the Earth. His concept drawings were the first saucer shaped spacecraft drawings documented. This concept generated much controversy, following which (in 1947) the even more famous Roswell "UFO incident" occurred. Freelance writer Deke Houlgate speculated at a 1990 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) tribute to Tremulis: "Do we have Alex Tremulis to thank for 40 years of speculation over space visitors?" After World War II, he worked with the design firm of Tammen & Denison until Preston Tucker hired him to design the 1948 Tucker Torpedo. The radical design was considered by most to be as beautiful as it was innovative, and is unquestionably Tremulis’ masterpiece. The ill-fated car was one of the first ever to adopt rear engine mounting, air cooling, hidden fuel fillers, the precursor to the current cornering lights found on luxury cars (a “cyclops eye” third headlight that turned with the wheels), seat belts, pop-out safety glass, padded interiors and several other innovations. Even after the demise of the Tucker Motors Corporation, and after Tucker’s acquittal on all counts of fraud, Preston Tucker commissioned Tremulis to design a revival intended to debut in the late 1950s as the Tucker Talisman, but Tucker died in 1956 before he could put Tremulis’ design into production. Actor Elias Koteas portrayed Tremulis in Francis Ford Coppolla’s 1988 academy award nominated film “Tucker: A Man and His Dream”. Tremuilis went on to style for the Kaiser-Frazer automotive company from 1950 to 1952. From 1952 through 1963, Tremulis worked as the Chief of Ford Advanced Styling. There, among his projects, he was assigned (in 1957) to “design the car he believed we would be driving in the year 2000.” The result was his design, on paper and a small model, of the Ford X-2000. The design was so enthralling to one Australian (Andy Saunders) that he actually built a running prototype of the car in 1999 and showed it at car shows in Australia in 1999 and 2000. Among Tremulis’ designs was the Gyronaut X-1 streamlined motorcycle, which won the land speed record of 245.66 miles per hour from a 90 horsepower engine at the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah in 1966. The Gyronaut got its name from the fact that it was stabilized by gyroscopes. In the 1960s Tremulis continued in a consulting role to attempts at automotive world land speed records. His designs included the "Goodyear Wingfoot Express" (the first rocket powered automobile to reach 520 miles per hour) and the “Green Monster” (which failed to set a record after losing a wheel at approximately 600 miles per hour). Tremulis was commissioned by NASA to submit a design for the lunar rover, though his two-wheeled, gyro-stabilized design was not chosen. Among Tremulis’ last designs were the 1978-1987 Subaru Brat and the Subaru X-100, a three-wheeled, 150 miles per-gallon concept car. Tremulis was a frequent contributor to “Road and Track” Magazine, and was elected to the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1982. He died on December 29, 1991, after suffering several strokes, one of which had blinded him. xxxxx The Gaylord was ORIGINALLY going to be designed by NONE OTHER then one of the greats Alex Tremulis (famous for many cars including the Tucker) ..but couldn't due to conflicts with his then current employer FORD.. so he suggested another big name in car design Brooks Stevens (he did a number of designs for the Jeep and his own company EXCALIBER cars years later) AMAZING HOW EVERY ONE IS CONNECTED TOGETHER HUMM? xxxx The first Cord 810s are assembled and delivered to dealers in February 1936. Most new owners love their gorgeous, speedy, exotic machine. More practical ones wonder why they vapor lock, leak, and slip out of gear. Engineers keep adding bracing to the convertible prototypes, to try to stop them from shaking and vibrating. (Over 900 Cords, 30% of total production, are built during this period --- all are sedans.) A surprisingly large number of Cords are shipped to Auburn dealers in England, Europe, South America and South Africa. The first convertible coupes and phaetons, still shaking some, are delivered to dealers. (Auburn continued to add bracing throughout production.) The initial glow of the new car has worn off, and practical buyers are looking elsewhere. Sales are very slow, and the dealer base continues to dwindle so for reasons of economy, administrative operations are consolidated at the Connersville complex. The Auburn buildings are virtually abandoned and Auburn's engineering talent, including Herb Snow, leaves for greener pastures and Buehrig realizes that this enterprise doesn't have a future. He leaves, with no job yet in hand. Alex Tremulis takes over as lone stylist. The model number of the 1937 Cord was changed from 810 to 812. (About 150 810s were renumbered as 812s, and sold as 1937 models. Try that today!) Very minor changes were made, mostly small mechanical improvements. Two additions to the line had been in preparation for months; a supercharger option aimed at the sporting set and a long-wheelbase for the monied classes. These were now put into production. The virtually unchanged Cord was again a standout at the auto shows. The external exhaust pipes on supercharged models, a last-minute innovation by Tremulis and Augie Duesenberg, were a particular sensation. Cords fascinated the public, but they didn't buy them. Sales continued to dwindle, as the dealership base melted away. In August of 1937 Errett Cord, who had sold his Auburn stock a year earlier, now sold his holdings in the Cord
Corporation and retired a millionaire to California and the new owners immediately shut down unprofitable divisions.
Auburn stopped car production. xxxx Meanwhile, Tucker still had a prototype to build. During Christmas 1946, he commissioned Alex Tremulis to design his car and ordered the prototype ready in 100 days. The time-frame was unheard of, but necessary. Unable to obtain clay for a mock-up, engineers, many from the race car industry, began beating out sheet iron, a ridiculous way to build a car but a phenomenal achievement. The first car, completely hand-made, was affectionately dubbed the "Tin Goose." The Tucker '48 premiered June 19, 1947 in the Tucker plant before the press, dealers, distributors and brokers. Tucker later discarded many of the Tin Goose features, such as 24-volt electrical system starters to turn over the massive 589-cubic-inch engine. For the premier, workers substituted two 12-volt truck batteries weighing over 150 pounds that caused the Tucker's suspension arms to snap. Speeches dragged on as workers behind the curtain tried feverishly to get the Tin Goose up and running. Finally, before the crowd of 5000, the curtains parted and the Tucker automobile rolled down the ramp from the stage and to its viewing area where it remained for the rest of the evening. Stock finally cleared for sale on July 15. xxxx Most people will remember Alex Tremulis as the legendary designer of the Tucker, but for Imperial fans, we remember him as the designer of the remarkable 1940/'41 Chrysler Thunderbolt because the design was based on a 1940 Chrysler Crown Imperial frame. Tremulis, who had been working with Crosley and American Bantam in the late 30's, returned to Briggs Body Works to create this fantastic concept car for Chrysler. As with the Newport Phaetons, six of these wonderful show car were built for Chrysler. It was dubbed "The Car of the Future" and was an aluminum envelope-bodied, flush-fendered coupe with a fully retractable, electrically controlled hardtop. Pushbuttons operated the doors (there were no door "handles") and it even sported hydraulic power windows. The totally enclosed front and rear wheel wells was also a new design concept. Tremulis' new concept car was also marked by a discrete silvery bolt of lightning on each smooth door. The electrically-controlled top could be concealed beneath the rear deck of the two-seater by pressing a button. Concealed headlights, anodized aluminum trim at the base of the car's body and leather interior trim marked this sleek full-fender look. It was powered by a 143-HP straight eight engine xxxx Copy A new US postwar car, the Tucker 48, was introduced by Preston Thomas Tucker (1903-1957), who envisioned it as the "Car of Tomorrow". The original 1946 Torpedo design by George Lawson (see below), had three headlights; one centered; the fenders and their respective headlights turning in concert with the steering wheel, which was also centered. Tucker then separately engaged Alex Tremulis (See below), and a competitive design team from Lippincott & Margulies which included Hal Bergstrom, Philip S. Egan (See below), Tucker Madawick (see below), Budd Steinhilber See below) and independent designer Read Viemeister, who had just left L&M (See below). The final prototype, called the Tin Goose by Tucker, used Tremulis' body design and the front and rear ends of the L&M team. Interiors were designed by Audrey Moore Hodges (1918-1996) of Tremulis' staff. In 1949, Tucker was indicted by the SEC on 31 counts of fraud, theft and regulatory violations, and his plant was closed after producing a pilot run of 51 cars. He was acquitted in 1950, but no cars were sold on the market--- they were auctioned off. In 1988, the movie, Tucker: A Man and His Dream, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, was released. Philip S. Egan (b.1920) US industrial designer. Studied aeronautical engineering at Stewart Technical Institute, NY. Hired by J. Gordon Lippincott in 1946 and was assigned to Tucker '48 project, and in 1947 went to work with Alex Tremulis at Tucker. Worked with Sears, Roebuck & Company on a variety of products starting 1948. Opened own office, Phil Egan Design, in 1960. Published several books, including Design and Destiny: The Making of the Tucker Automobile. Office located in Fairfax, CA. George Lawson US automotive stylist. Graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art. Worked at Buick in late 1930s, where he designed the 1938 Buick. He met Tucker in 1946 and prepared the Torpedo concept. Later he worked for Raymond Loewy Associates, Nash, and General Motors in the 1950s. Tucker Madawick (b. 1918) US industrial designer. Was in the first class of industrial design at Pratt Institute in 1935. Joined Ford in 1938, where he worked on the 1939 Mercury, 1940 Lincoln Continental and 1941 Ford. In 1942 joined Ford's aircraft team and from 1943 to 1946 worked as production coordinator for Convair on B-24, B-32 and B-36 bomber programs. In 1946 joined J. Gordon Lippincott, his former teacher, and was involved with the Tucker car. Joined Raymond Loewy Associates in 1947 and in 1948 was appointed manager of the London office. In 1952 joined Carl Otto Associates as an account executive until 1955, then returned to the Loewy office as account executive until 1959. Joined RCA in 1959 as Manager of Industrial Design, becoming VP of the Advance Design Center in 1968, and Divisional VP of Consumer Electronics from 1971 until his retirement in 1981. Was president of IDI in 1964 and president of IDSA 1969-1970. Alex Sarantos Tremulis (1914-1994) US automotive stylist. Born in Chicago and started at Duesenberg in 1933, where he worked under Gordon Buehrig on the Cord 810, becoming chief stylist in 1936. In 1937 went with GM, then to Briggs LeBaron. In 1938 worked for Custom Motors in Beverly Hills, CA., then consulted with Crosley and American Bantam in 1939 and returned to Briggs to work on the Chrysler Thunderbolt and the Packard Clipper. Entered Air Force in 1941, where he worked on advanced aircraft concepts at Wright Field, and developed a concept which in the 1970s became known as the Boeing Dyna-Soar, a gliding re-entry space vehicle. After the war, he worked with the design firm of Tammen and Denison until Preston Tucker hired him. He later worked at Ford advanced styling, and in California for Subaru, where he designed the Brat. Budd Steinhilber (b. 1924) US industrial designer. Apprenticed at Loewy office as student at Pratt Institute. Graduated in 1943 and started work with Dohner & Lippincott in NY immediately. In 1947 became part of team designing the Tucker car. In 1949 he joined Read Viemeister (See below) as partner until 1964 when he relocated to San Francisco and subsequently established a partnership with Gene Tepper (Tepper & Steinhilber Associates), then in 1975 a partnership with graphic designer Barry Deutsch (Steinhilber & Deutsch Inc.). Retired in 1987 and relocated to Hawaii. Read Viemeister (1923-1993) US industrial designer. Graduated from Pratt 1943 and started work immediately with Dohner & Lippincott in NY, and became its first Director of Styling. He married Beverly Lipsett in 1946, left L&M and moved to Yellow Springs OH to set up Vie Design Studios with Budd Steinhilber (See above) who joined him in 1949. Together, they established a Department of Industrial Design at Dayton Art Institute. After Budd left in 1964, Read continued Vie Design Studios until his death. 100 Years of Design--A Chronology 1895-1995, by Carroll Gantz, FIDSA. xxxxx Alexander Sarantos Tremulis (1914 - 1991) was the chief stylist at the Tucker corporation from 1947 to 1949, where he played a crucial role in making Preston Tucker's dream into automotive reality: the legendary Tucker 48 (also known as the Tucker Torpedo), a sleek fastback sedan with a rear engine and unique 3-headlight array in the front. In addition to his work for Tucker (including the design of the concept Talisman), Alex Tremulis' 60 year long career from 1933 to his death put him in the front lines of envisioning transportation from some of the most celebrated automobiles of all time, to advanced concepts in trains and space flight.... and even flying saucers. Some highlights (in addition to the Tucker) of the remarkable career of this Automotive Hall of Fame member include:
xxxx Bantam historian Dick Beagle writes (12/12/96) that we aren't the only ones who have thought about redesigning
the Bantam and enclosed this wonderful photo which is apparently one of three proposals. However, by 1940, Bantam
was working full time on the reconaissance car (Jeep) and was, moreover, pretty much washed up in the passenger car
business. xxx A garden variety Bantam Coupe goes to Alex Tremulis' chop shop in Hollywood and comes back to Butler as a modern "convertible coupe" replete with roll up windows! xxx 1942 DeSoto Cyclone This rendering for a futuristic streamliner has all the qualities of an Alex Tremulis exersize, and may have been an intended companion to the Tremulis-designed 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt showcars. In honor of this speculation, Area "EX" has designated this car "Cyclone." Tremulis later became chief stylist at Tucker. Note the Tucker-like prow dividing the bumper/grille combination. Headlamp doors and front fenders bear a strong resemblence to those used on the production 1942 DeSoto. xxx For you historians- The left photo, taken ca. 1957 at my grandfather's Stevensville, MI farm is one of the few pictures I have of my great uncle, Alex Tremulis (standing-center), designer of the Tucker automobile, Subaru Brat, a number of other vehicles and aircraft, and documentor of late-1940s New Mexico UFO sightings. xxx Alex Tremulis' four-door Tucker design of 1948 is an aerodynamic bench mark. Promulgating the excellence of automotive design, this vehicle further exhibits ingenuity in mechanical and safety components, and its competencies may transcend today's standards. xxx Archetypal Engineering Alex Tremulis: Saucer Designer Like many Americans, Alex Sarantos Tremulis had been intrigued by the press coverage of flying saucers in the summer of 1947, and he was not convinced that they were just optical illusions. In January 1948 an Air Force pilot had died chasing one. Tremulis was different from most people who read the Mantell story in two respects: he was one of the most talented automobile designers in the United States, and he had worked at Wright Field during WWII as an aircraft technical illustrator. Tremulis had started his career in 1936, when at the tender age of 22 he was hired to replace Gordon Buehrig as chief stylist of the legendary Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg firm. He was responsible for several beautiful Auburn designs, sleek cars like the Model 812 "Boattail" with its supercharged Lycoming engine and bulging chrome exhaust pipes. Shortly after the US entered World War II in 1941, Tremulis was drafted. He had always loved airplanes, so he took a chance and sent a portfolio of imaginative designs to the Army Air Force. The paintings worked their way up to the desk of General "Hap" Arnold, the Chief of Staff, who must have been greatly impressed. Alex was soon transferred to Design Branch of the Aircraft Laboratory at Wright field, the Air Force's most advanced development center, where the aeronautical technology of the future was being forged. Master Sergeant Tremulis won over his initially skeptical military superiors with his ability to transform sterile blueprints into beautiful, action-packed renderings. It dawned on them that these drawings could help them sell planes in Washington. General Oliver Echols, the Air Corps deputy Chief of Staff, was so pleased with Tremulis's work that he asked him to illustrate all future proposals from the Aircraft Lab. For his part, Tremulis was somewhat awed by the technology of Wright Field, and was impressed by visits from VIPs like the legendary aerodynamicist and Air Force consultant Theodore von Kármán. Tremulis obviously enjoyed painting one 1943 concept, a sleek, flame-spewing jet helicopter piloted by a gent in a double-breasted business suit, but he eventually moved on to more serious designs, including a supersonic fighter built around four new, secret GE TG-180 turbojet engines and an April 1944 concept for a supersonic research rocket plane that might be the first drawing of what eventually became the Bell X-1. A post-war history of the Aircraft Lab recounted the impact of one of his more exotic ideas: Once [Tremulis] let his imagination run wild and drew a radical design that stood on a three-wheeled carriage and was launched by firing rockets; it shot straight up to fabulous heights and then used its own power to fight with. The story goes that it was pooh-poohed into the wastebasket by a high-ranking colonel, who never did call up Al after he found out in Germany that the Nazis had a similar design in the fabrication stages. The plane the Germans had, incidentally, was to be used to bomb New York. Stupid thinking here had stopped it from even being considered. The New York bomber could have been either the Sanger "Rabo" or Peenemunde's A9/10, and the shortsighted Colonel might have been Donald Putt. Tremulis called his rocket plane, which he sketched in July 1944, the "TVT," for "Tremulis Vertical Takeoff." It looked like an Me-163 mounted on the tip of a V-2. In good Buck Rogers style, he depicted one of the machines sitting on its launch pad and being fuelled by a pair of space-suited technicians wearing bubble helmets topped with antennas. Eventually Tremulis was given a Top Secret clearance and access to information about the strange new weapons being introduced by the Germans. One day in 1944 he had an encounter with the shadowy world of Air Technical Intelligence when he was taken under tight security to a restricted room at Wright Field. Inside was a pile of mangled wreckage. "This is a German V-2 rocket," he was told. "We want you to draw a picture of what it looks like when it's in one piece." The Tucker '48 When the war ended, Tremulis left the Air Force and returned to the tamer world of civilian industrial design. Near the end of 1946 a magazine article about an intriguing new automobile caught his interest. It was a futuristic, airplane-like machine called the "Tucker Torpedo." He contacted the car's creator immediately. Preston Tucker, a charismatic industrialist, was maneuvering for a toehold in the expected postwar-boom car market and was busily organizing investors and a national sales network. Tucker and Tremulis were impressed with each other, and soon Tremulis joined the firm as chief designer, restyling Tucker's impractical concept car and overseeing every detail of the creation of a genuine running prototype. When the Tucker '48 rolled out on June 19, 1947, five days before Kenneth Arnold's "flying saucer" sighting that would launch the modern UFO era, it was largely Tremulis's design, and it was like nothing else on the road. "The first completely new car in fifty years," said the ads. But by late summer 1947 there already were signs of trouble with Tucker's company. The Securities and Exchange Commission began questioning Tucker's business practices, and other government agencies blocked his attempts to purchase surplus industrial property for factory space. In June 1948, the SEC would launch formal a formal investigation of the company, a persecution that would ultimately lead to its demise the following year. Tucker and several company officials would be charged with multiple counts of fraud, and Tremulis would eventually be forced to take the witness stand to defend his prototyping techniques. Imagineering the Saucer Tremulis may have needed a diversion from the rollercoaster Tucker enterprise as he read the papers on January 8, 1948. Something about the Mantell crash riveted him. He was already intensely interested in flying saucers, he was steeped in the futuristic jet and rocket culture of the Wright Field Aircraft Lab, and he was one of the best-qualified men in the world to illustrate exotic machines in a believable way. Were flying saucers spaceships from other planets? If so, how would they work? What would the pilots look like? His saucer streaked through space against a black, starry background. It was heading straight for Earth, where North America was prominently visible. It sported three big rocket engine pods spewing flames complete with realistic supersonic shock diamonds. There were air intake louvers and little hatches on top of the wing for verisimilitude, and in the center of the disc was a cockpit bubble topped with an antenna. Inside the bubble, at the controls of the saucer, were two little, bald extraterrestrial pilots in space suits. In the lower right corner of the painting, Tremulis drew an outline of a human figure, "MAN," an average guy in a business suit. Next to "MAN" was a dwarfish creature wearing a Buck Rogers helmet with an antenna, something like the one in his Wright Field "TVT" drawing. The little creature was labeled "?" He took the rendering to the Chicago Tribune. The drawing and Tremulis's credentials impressed the editors. "I could build a scale model of this thing that would fly," he told reporters, and wowed them with an accurate estimate that an interplanetary spacecraft would have to be able to reach 25,000 mph to escape Earth's gravity. The drawing was distributed nationally by the Acme wire service. In October, 1949, Variety columnist Frank Scully reported that a saucer had crashed in New Mexico and that the government had recovered the bodies of its dwarfish crew. Scully published a book, Behind the Flying Saucers, in 1950, and Donald Keyhoe's article "The Flying Saucers Are Real" in the January edition of True magazine raised public interest in saucers to new heights. Tremulis quickly produced another rendering even more unusual than the first. It was a portrayal of two humans conducting a classic "third degree"-style interrogation of a pair of small, bulb-headed extraterrestrial beings. One of the humans appears to be an Air Force officer (General Vandenberg, perhaps?) who is holding a microphone linked to a sleek machine from which a tape emerges. The tape is being examined by one of the extraterrestrials, who is wearing a helmet topped with a coiled antenna. The concept behind the drawing appears to be that the "translation machine" transmits voice communication from the human interrogator to the ET via the helmet, and that the "brain waves" of the ET are in turn passed to the machine for transcription into human language. A cigarette-smoking man reads the tape as the ET passes it along. Is he a CIA official? The facial features of the ETs are extremely intriguing. To modern eyes, they look exactly like the "standard Grey alien" described in recent abduction literature, with their large heads and wraparound eyes. Their boot-belt-and-tunic outfits are dated and science-fiction-clichéd, but the overall impression is rather arresting. By March, 1950, when public interest in saucers was peaking, both of Tremulis's illustrations were in wide circulation in newspapers. Sources: Many of the above illustrations were graciously provided by Tremulis' widow Chrisanthie, who also recalled her husband's considerable interest in the flying saucer phenomenon. Anecdotes of Tremulis's career at Wright Field from They Tamed The Sky: The Triumph of American Aviation, by Douglas J. Ingells (New York City: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1946) and the article "Tuckers, Gyros and Little Green Men," in Exotic Cars Quarterly, Fall 1992. Tremulis is also portrayed in Francis Ford Coppola's film Tucker: The Man and His Dream. http://www.ufx.org/tremulis/tremulis.htm xxx The year is 1967 and the oil crisis is still years away. Bloated gas-guzzling Detroit behemoths clog the roads and pollute the air. But in Northridge, California, Gyro Transport Systems, Inc. is about to change all that. Drawing on world class talent, such as famed automotive designer, the late Alex Tremulis (think Duesenberg, Cord, Tucker, Chrysler Thunderbolt, and more) and Thomas O. Summers, Jr, (holder of several dozen basic gyroscope patents), they build Gyro-X, a gyroscopically stabilized 2-wheel car offering superb performance and efficiency. While this is not the first such vehicle, it is a milestone in automotive engineering (thanks to Kris Bubendorfer for this picture of the 1912 Austin-Wolseley gyro car commissioned by Russian Count Peter Schilovski). Eager to record this amazing achievement, the magazine, Science and Mechanics, forerunner of today's Popular Science and Popular Mechanics, dispatches James Joseph to take a look and take some pictures. The result? A superb article in the September, 1967 issue (reproduced here). With this kind of exposure you would expect Gyro Transport Systems to go from strength to strength and put the Gyro-X into production. But that doesn't happen. Instead, there is a black hole in the historical record. There is not even a mention of the Gyro-X on those web sites that refer to the work Alex Tremulis did on flying saucers for the Air Force at Wright Field (there is mention of Gryronaut X-1, a streamlined motorcycle that set a world land speed record at Bonneville in 1966, but that is not the Gyro-X). Let the conspiracy theories begin... This was no zany madcap project, this was the work of serious engineers, including famed automotive designer Alex Tremulis, the man who designed the Tucker and the Chrysler Thunderbolt. He also worked on flying saucers and space craft for the U.S. government. xxx The 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt was a driveable, aluminum-bodied early-day concept car. Marked by a discrete silvery bolt of lightning on each smooth (with no handle, only a pushbutton) door, the hide-away hardtop convertible was one of six built for Chrysler by LeBaron. The electrically-controlled top could be concealed beneath the rear deck of the two-seater by pressing a button. Concealed headlights, anodized aluminum trim at the base of the car body and leather interior trim marked this sleek full-fender look. The '41 Thunderbolt was the first non-production car to pace the Indianapolis 500 race and was based on a design by Alex Tremulis, then of Briggs Manufacturing Co., and Ralph Roberts of Chrysler. It was powered by a 143-HP straight eight engine. xxxx THUNDERBOLT, The auto industries first "Dream Car" appeared under the Chrysler badge in 1940 and 1941. Created by Alex Tremulis and Ralph Roberts, the Thunderbolt was built by Lebaron and was radically different from any other car of its day or even now. Chrysler corporation documents, research and meetings with Ralph Roberts and this owner, indicate that contrary to to previous reports, only five (5) similar Thunderbolts were actually built. Each with a different body and top color combination and all were for the show circuit, delivered to various Dealerships and driven by customers. Only four (4) remain in the world today and this red body and silver retractable hard top Thunderbolt is unquestionably the finest example in existance and the only fully and authentically restored car with correct color combinations and bottom trim. THUNDERBOLT, features a smooth and contoured aluminum body. The ingenious design of the electrically operated retractable hard top has three (3) separate synchronized operations with the flick of just one switch, an incredible engineering task in 1941. Head lights are hidden behind peek-a-boo lids that electrically retract when the lights are turned on. Electrically operated windows, innovative edge-lighted dash board instruments, push button exterior and interior door handles, leather interior and leather dash board are among the additional features. Contributing to the long and low look, are fully covered front and rear wheels made possible by the uniquely sculptured fender design combined with satin finished chome plated metal trim that almost completely encircle the lower body. THUNDERBOLT, is equipped with a Chrysler "Fluid Drive" Transmission and "Overdrive", giving the driver an option of operating the car without shifting. The creation of this incredible car marked the beginning in automobile history from which major auto manufacturers began their futuristic design and engineering concepts of today. xxxx Here is a fantastic overview of the Newport and Thunderbolt taken from, "Art of the American Automobile" written by Nick Georgano and published by Smithmark. Two of the most striking Chryslers appeared just before the United States entered World War II. Christened Thunderbolt and Newport, they were commissioned from the coachbuilders LeBaron, not production cars but as styling exercise for publicity, to remove the stigma of Airflow and show that the Chrysler name could be associated with beautiful cars. Also, 1938 saw the appearance of Harley Earl's Buick Y-Job and K.T. Keller did not want to be left out. Of the big three only Ford produced no "ideas cars" before the war. By 1939 LeBaron had lost its two founders Tom Hibbard and Ray Dietrich, and was guided by Ralph Roberts. There were close ties between LeBaron and Briggs, the mass producers, and as there was very little custom done coming LeBaron's way, Roberts was working for Briggs at the time the Chrysler cars were commissioned. Though he was not a trained designer, he had a very good eye, like Harley Earl, and it seems the Newport was largely his work. Designed at Briggs and built by LeBaron it was a six passenger dual-cowl phaeton with dual windshields, push-button door handles, concealed headlights and a flowing fender line from front to rear. The body was of aluminum painted bone-white and with pleated leather interior which was used around both cockpits and in the door panels. Roberts had originally planned a swept forward windshield, but this was vetoed (wisely) by Keller. An interesting touch was the provision of rear-view mirrors for the rear cockpit passengers. Six Newports were built some of which were colored dark green with tan leather interiors. A white example was used as the pace car 1941 Indianapolis 500. If the Newport was modern looking, the Thunderbolt was definitely futuristic and would not have looked out of place in the 1960's. It was styled by Alex Tremulis who was also working for Briggs. It was shorter than the Newport and seated three on a wide bench seat. Unlike the Newports dipped fender line, the Thunderbolt had a straight-through line with no dip or belt molding of any kind, like the postwar Kaiser-Frazer. Both front and rear wheels were covered, there were concealed headlights and no recognizable grille - air intakes were below the bumper. Like the Newport, the body was aluminum with stainless steel molding running right around the lower part. When he saw the design, Keller asked how they were going to bend it around the front end. Tremulis said they would make that section of brass and plate it. That pleased Keller, who said, "Sometimes you stylists think like engineers and make sense." The Newport and Thunderbolt both used a stock Chrysler L-head staight-8 engine, and road on stock chassis, 127 1/2 inches for the Thunderbolt, and 143 1/2 inches, Chrysler's longest, for the Newport. Six were made of which four Newports and two Thunderbolts survive. One of the surviving Newports, now in the National Automobile Museum at Reno, Nevada, was owned by playboy millionaire Henry J. Topping, who customized the car with his name on the hubcaps and valve covers; he also replaced the Chrysler engine with a Cadillac V-8. The cars certainly achieved their purpose of putting Chrysler at the forefront of styling ideas, and they traveled the country at shows in 1940 and 1941.
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For more information please read: Biographies of Prominent Carriage Draftsmen - Carriage Monthly, April 1904 Marian Suman-Hreblay - Dictionary of World Coachbuilders and Car Stylists Daniel D. Hutchins - Wheels Across America: Carriage Art & Craftsmanship Marian Suman-Hreblay - Dictionary of World Coachbuilders and Car Stylists Michael Lamm and Dave Holls - A Century of Automotive Style: 100 Years of American Car Design Nick Georgano - The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile: Coachbuilding George Arthur Oliver - A History of Coachbuilding George Arthur Oliver - Cars and Coachbuilding: One Hundred Years of Road Vehicle Development Hugo Pfau - The Custom Body Era Beverly Rae Kimes - The Classic Car Beverly Rae Kimes - The Classic Era Richard Burns Carson - The Olympian Cars Brooks T. Brierley - Magic Motors 1930 James J. Schild - Fleetwood: the Company and the Coachcraft John R. Velliky - Dodge Brothers/Budd Co. Historical Photo Album Stephen Newbury - Car Design Yearbook 1 Stephen Newbury - Car Design Yearbook 2 Stephen Newbury - Car Design Yearbook 3 Dennis Adler - The Art of the Sports Car: The Greatest Designs of the 20th Century C. Edson Armi - The Art of American Car Design: The Profession and Personalities C. Edson Armi - American Car Design Now Penny Sparke - A Century of Car Design John Tipler - The World's Great Automobile Stylists Ivan Margolius - Automobiles by Architects Jonathan Bell - Concept Car Design Erminie Shaeffer Hafer - A century of vehicle craftsmanship Ronald Barker & Anthony Harding - Automobile Design: Twelve Great Designers and Their Work John McLelland - Bodies beautiful: A history of car styling and craftsmanship Frederic A. Sharf - Future Retro: Drawings From The Great Age Of American Automobiles Paul Carroll Wilson - Chrome Dreams: Automobile Styling Since 1893 David Gartman - Auto Opium: A Social History of American Automobile Design Nick Georgano - Art of the American Automobile: The Greatest Stylists and Their Work Matt Delorenzo - Modern Chrysler Concept Cars: The Designs That Saved the Company Thom Taylor - How to Draw Cars Like a Pro Tony Lewin & Ryan Borroff - How To Design Cars Like a Pro D. Nesbitt - 50 Years Of American Auto Design David Gartman - Auto Opium: A Social History of American Automobile Design Lennart W. Haajanen & Karl Ludvigsen - Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles L. J. K Setright - The designers: Great automobiles and the men who made them Goro Tamai - The Leading Edge: Aerodynamic Design of Ultra-Streamlined Land Vehicles Brian Peacock & Waldemar Karwowski - Automotive Ergonomics Bob Thomas - Confessions of an Automotive Stylist Brooke Hodge & C. Edson Armi - Retrofuturism: The Car Design of J Mays Gordon M. Buehrig - Rolling sculpture: A designer and his work Henry L. Dominguez - Edsel Ford and E.T. Gregorie: The Remarkable Design Team... Stephen Bayley - Harley Earl (Design Heroes Series) Stephen Bayley - Harley Earl and the Dream Machine Serge Bellu - 500 Fantastic Cars: A Century of the World Concept Cars Raymond Loewy - Industrial Design Raymond Loewy - Never Leave Well Enough Alone Philippe Tretiack - Raymond Loewy and Streamlined Design Angela Schoenberger - Raymond Loewy: Pioneer of American Industrial Design |
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