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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
143hp, 324 cu. in. inline eight-cylinder engine, three-speed Fluid Drive manual transmission with overdrive, independent front suspension with coil springs, live axle rear suspension with leaf springs and four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 127.5"
WELL-ENGINEERED, EFFECTIVE AND PRACTICAL
The Chrysler Corporation had produced some outstanding designs in its prewar history: clean, refined automobiles that captured the essence of quality, elegance and craftsmanship. Despite this, few were what could be considered “designed.” Their inherent attraction came not from the concepts of a talented artist like Harley Earl or even the inspiration of a tasteful mentor like Edsel Ford, but rather from the subjective appeal of strongly engineered, highly functional automobiles which were complemented by understated artistic influence. Chrysler built strong, functional, athletic automobiles that worked well and, like a handsome actor, they looked good in just about any attire.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
Ray Dietrich in 1935 was to become the first official Chrysler stylist (previously, the Art & Color division of Chrysler had been part of the Engineering department) charged with restyling the ill-fated Airflow line and adding the less radical, more attractive Airstream. The Airflows’ dramatically different design with styling features like the exaggerated waterfall grille failed; Chrysler engineers believed the public was not ready for such a dramatic step forward – a view which had little support at the time but since then has been largely vindicated in the judgment of history.
Through the late thirties Chrysler products continued to offer competent and pleasing, though largely “safe” designs. They broke no new ground, instead trading safely upon styling and design elements pioneered by General Motors and others. Walter P. Chrysler might have preferred a return to his namesake corporation’s earlier trendsetting design philosophy integrating advanced engineering with appropriate coachwork, but his declining health meant he was no longer the dynamic leader who had created the second largest auto manufacturer in the world and survived the Great Depression with resources sufficient even to absorb the Airflow debacle.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
Walter P. Chrysler resigned in 1938 and passed away less than two years later. The corporation that bore his name endured the loss of its leader, restructured and turned to its new leader, Kaufman Thuma Keller, known for obvious reasons as “K.T.” who had been its President since 1935. Keller realized Chrysler needed exposure, not only at the auto shows but also in dealers’ showrooms to draw prospective customers.
The business of building “show” or “concept” cars was in its infancy in 1940, with the notion of showcasing potential future styling and innovations dating back only two years to Harley Earl and his 1938 Buick Y-Job. Given the success the Y-Job achieved in presenting future design to the public, it did not take long for the other automobile manufacturers to recognize the need to follow Earl’s and GM’s lead. Of the big three only Ford produced no “ideas cars” before the Second World War.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
THE CONCEPTUAL BECOMES REALITY
The Thunderbolt’s striking design came from Ralph Roberts and the fertile mind of 25 year old Alex Tremulis who would later help design the legendary Tucker Torpedo Sedan. Tremulis was working for the Briggs Manufacturing Company – the parent company to LeBaron since 1928.
The Thunderbolt concept was born as a result of a thoughtful pitch by Tremulis to LeBaron’s head Ralph Roberts to create a pair of “dream cars” in 1939. Roberts was so impressed with the design he organized a meeting with K.T. Keller and Chrysler division president Dave Wallace to discuss the possibility of creating the cars; the pair was given the go-ahead to create two different cars based on Ralph Roberts and Alex Tremulis’ sketches.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
Both Roberts and Tremulis, for obvious reasons, were elated at the opportunity to build these two dream cars. By the late 1930s the market for custom coachwork in the U.S. had largely evaporated, hit hard by the Depression and the efforts of corporate stylists like GM’s Harley Earl and Ford’s Eugene Gregorie, leaving LeBaron with little work of significance. The Thunderbolt and Newport projects ended up being two of the most interesting cars to ever come out of LeBaron, as well as some of the last as the onset of World War II would force LeBaron to halt production as they had known it for so many years.
The Thunderbolt utilized a full-envelope body with concealed headlights and the very first convertible with a fully retractable hard top of any kind designed, developed and patented by Ralph Roberts. Notably, the Newport was chosen to be the first non-production vehicle ever to pace the Indianapolis 500 in 1941.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
THE THUNDERBOLT STRIKES - THE “CONCEPT CAR” IS BORN
If the Newport was modern looking, the Thunderbolt was beyond futuristic and would not have looked out of place in the 1960s mod period. It was shorter than the Newport and seated three on a wide bench seat. Unlike the Newport’s dipped fender line, the Thunderbolt had a straight-through line with no dip or belt molding of any kind; it was truly like nothing else. Both the front and rear wheels were covered with fender skirts, there were concealed retractable headlights, no recognizable grille and the air intakes were cleverly situated below the bumper. The body was constructed out of aluminum except for the hood and trunk decklid, which are steel, with anodized metal molding practically wrapping around the entire car. Its construction was so impressive that Keller saw the design he asked how they were going to bend it around the front end. Tremulis said they would make that section of brass and plate it. With much delight Keller replied, “Sometimes you stylists think like engineers and make sense.”
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
The Chrysler Thunderbolt was named after the land speed record holding car in which Captain George Eyston drove at 357.53mph over the measured mile at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September of 1938. The original Thunderbolt was powered by two 12-cylinder Rolls-Royce aero-engines, it was more than 30 feet long, and weighed 7 tons. Eyston was kind enough to grant Chrysler permission to use the name (and the reputation) of his record holding car.
Utilizing the shorter 127.5 inch New Yorker chassis, this Thunderbolt is fitted with the 323.5 cubic inch C-27 1552 Spitfire L-head inline eight-cylinder engine rated at 140 horsepower at 3,400 rpm and delivering 255 foot pounds of torque. As a prototype, the Thunderbolt also employed the three-speed Fluid Drive transmission that was not to see full development and employment until after World War II on production Chrysler models. Additionally, it featured the highly unusual overdrive that allowed the car to travel at speeds in excess of 100mph and gave the driver an option of operating the car without shifting.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
Further utilizing then unheard of design features, the Thunderbolt had push-button door switches both inside and out. The interior was lavishly appointed in leather and Bedford cord while the dashboard represented design advancements entirely its own as well. The Thunderbolt marked the first modern motor car to utilize back lit Lucite edged illuminated gauges inlaid into the dash and matched perfectly to the Imperial steering wheel and vertically mounted inset radio.
Without question though, the most impressive design feature of the Thunderbolt was the ingeniously designed electrically operated retractable hardtop. With three separate synchronized operations, the flick of one switch atuomatically recessed the top into a space behind the bench seat. Access to the trunk was provided by the fully automatic sliding rear decklid – truly an incredible engineering task in 1941 and so much so that it was not seen again on a production car until just several years ago.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
Each of the original five Thunderbolts produced received a different color combination and were marked by a so discreet bolt of lightning on the smooth contoured aluminum doors. Subtle differences such as the exterior wraparound trim and dashboard finishes made each of these cars unique from one another. The extremely novel, effective, and practical concealed headlight doors were electrically operated retracting automatically when the lights were turned on. The totally enclosed front and rear wheel wells worked perfectly as a design concept and with the satin finished chrome plated metal trim it completely encircled the lower body enhancing the long and low look of the car.
The curved windshield design proved to be a serious challenge as it was a feature that did not exist on any automobiles at the time, nor did the glass companies have anything like it ready for use. Nearly reverting to a contemporary split V-style windshield, the glass company commissioned with the project got the curved windshield right in time, though reportedly after much trial and error. This single hallmark feature of the Chrysler show cars would not be seen in regular production until the early 1950s.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
To meet the short time frame allotted to the building of the Thunderbolt, aluminum side skin panels were applied over solid-oak substructures; while the trunk and the hood were all made of steel. Chrysler engineers were working hand in hand with LeBaron ensuring the integrity and quality of the cars would not be compromised under such the time constraints. Accordingly, the front wheels were situated far enough in under the fenders that it allowed an impressive full turning range. The Thunderbolt was one of the very first cars to completely omit a standard radiator and front grille configuration; air was drawn up from below the front bumper, much like the today’s automobiles.
Following their completion the Thunderbolt and the Newports were sent on promotional tours throughout the country, exhibited everywhere from local dealerships to pacing the Indianapolis 500. The Thunderbolt not only achieved its initial function of promoting Chrysler as a vanguard of styling ideas, but exceeded it by becoming a concept car of unprecedented importance at a time when its meaning could easily have paled in comparison to the dramatic events occurring in the world that surrounded it.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
Despite this, the cars would caravan across the country stopping at Chrysler dealerships attracting tremendous crowds – often it was necessary to shut off the lights of dealerships and actually ask people to leave, otherwise crowds had a tendency to linger well past midnight. A Sacramento, California Chrysler dealer reported 8,500 visitors to the dealership in the one day the Thunderbolt was in his showroom; a weekend in Denver attracted 29,000 visitors despite snow, hail and weather typical of a Colorado winter.
Ultimately the creation of the Thunderbolt marked the beginning of a remarkable period in automobile history. At the time the words “concept car” had not entered the vocabulary of automotive executives. Sure enough, in the post World War II years that followed Detroit cranked out “concept cars” like production cars and only the prewar examples such as the Buick Y-Job, Newport and Thunderbolt remained as the very foundation of the breed that continues to this day.
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| Chrysler Thunderbolt 1941 |
PERFECTION, PROVENANCE AND RARITY – THE FINEST OF THE REMAINING FOUR
Chrysler corporation documents and research indicate that only five Thunderbolts were ever built, each with a different body and top color combination, all for the show circuit. Today, only four remain with the example offered here, chassis 7807976, the finest and most correct example in existence. The author has had the pleasure and honor of inspecting three of the four remaining cars; one resides in a private collection as the centerpiece attraction for the last 10 years; the second is displayed at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Michigan; while the last example remains largely apart and in need of significant restoration. Most importantly, each of the remaining cars are treasured by their owners, none are for sale and in all likelihood, none of the three will be available for sale for many years to come.
Chassis number 7807976, the example offered here, is the only fully restored car with what is believed to be the original authentic color combinations and original anodized metal wraparound trim. It is recorded as being the fourth Thunderbolt built and retains numerous irreplaceable parts and original components.
Records indicate the Thunderbolt was sold by Joe Levy Sr., President of Walton Motors Inc. (a Chrysler dealership in Chicago) to the Vice-President of Mexico in 1942 where it remained for over 20 years. In the early 1960s the Thunderbolt was sold to Paul Stern with whom it remained for an equally long term until it was sold to “Friendly” Bob Adams. In 1980 Joe Levy Jr., son of the very first owner and Chrysler dealer, purchased the car. Over the next 10 years the Thunderbolt passed through several owners until it found its way into the hands of the current owner who purchased the car in 1997. By that point the Chrysler had been fully restored, however, it was in his possession that the final and most important accessory details were addressed and the car was prepped for national concours competition.
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