Art of the Classic Car

Section IV

Sedans

four-door car doesn’t have to

be ho-hum, and the cars in

this section are anything but.

In fact they showcase luxury

and innovation on par with

everything else in this book.

Take the 1931 Duesenberg SJ Convertible

Sedan. This 6,000-pound Depression-era drop-

top could exceed 130 miles per hour—admirable

numbers today, let alone 80 years ago. Under-

neath its long hood is the Duesy’s speed secret: a

centrifugal supercharger, an uncommon feature in

a production car, to say the least.

The 1934 Silver Arrow was built by Pierce-

Arrow as an exclusive luxury car to top all that

had come before. It also pushed forward new

design ideas, leaving old clichés in the past. Its

auction price of more than $2 million proves a car

needn’t be a coupe or convertible to command a

high price.

Our two Chryslers point in opposite direc-

tions. The Airflow was way ahead of its time, with

an aerodynamic, unitized body that set many

precedents but failed to find many customers.

The Town & Country, despite being the newest

car in this book, reaches backward to incorporate

wood in its construction to a degree matched by

few cars before or since. All of these sedans, for

different reasons, exemplify the art of design and

engineering that make any car a work of art.

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