The torpedo body style was a type of automobile body used from 1908 until the mid-1930s, which had a streamlined profile and a folding or detachable soft top. The design consists of a hood or bonnet line raised to be level with the car's waistline, resulting in a straight beltline from front to back. [1]
The name was introduced in 1908 when Captain Theo Masui, the London-based importer of French Gregoire cars, designed a streamlined body and called it "The Torpedo". [2]
The Torpedo body style was usually fitted to four- or five-seat touring cars (cars without a fixed roof) with detachable or folding roof, and low side panels and doors. Torpedo cars did not have B pillars, so the only uprights present were those supporting the windshield.
Similar styles are phaeton and baquet. [3]
The name is also used for trucks with a hood or bonnet. [4] [5]
A pickup truck or pickup is a light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof. In Australia and New Zealand, both pickups and coupé utilities are called utes, short for utility vehicle. In South Africa, people of all language groups use the term bakkie; a diminutive of Afrikaans: bak, meaning bowl or container.
DAF Trucks is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of Paccar. DAF originally stood for van Doorne's Aanhangwagen Fabriek. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assemblies are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium. Some of the truck models sold with the DAF brand are designed and built by Leyland Trucks at its Leyland plant in the United Kingdom.
A convertible or cabriolet is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
Coupé de ville — also known as town car or sedanca de ville — is a car body style produced from 1908 to 1939 with an external or open-topped driver's position and an enclosed compartment for passengers. Although the different terms may have once had specific meanings for certain car manufacturers or countries, the terms are often used interchangeably.
Leyland Motors Limited was an English vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company diversified into car manufacturing with its acquisitions of Triumph and Rover in 1960 and 1967, respectively. It gave its name to the British Leyland Motor Corporation, formed when it merged with British Motor Holdings in 1968, to become British Leyland after being nationalised. British Leyland later changed its name to simply BL, then in 1986 to Rover Group.
There are many types of car body styles. They vary depending on intended use, market position, location, and the era they were made.
Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars. "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The cars used for touring car racing in various series since the 1960s, are unrelated to these early touring cars, despite sharing the same name.
Kenworth Truck Company is an American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1923 as the successor to Gersix Motor Company, Kenworth specializes in production of heavy-duty and medium-duty commercial vehicles. Headquartered in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, Washington, Kenworth has been a wholly owned subsidiary of PACCAR since 1945, operating alongside sister company Peterbilt Motors.
Peterbilt Motors Company is an American truck manufacturer. Established in 1939 from the acquisition of Fageol Truck and Motor Company, Peterbilt specializes in the production of heavy-duty and medium-duty commercial vehicles. The namesake of company founder T. A. "Al" Peterman, Peterbilt has operated as part of PACCAR since 1958, operating alongside sister division Kenworth Truck Company.
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, typically metal, and integral to the vehicle's design, strength, and style.
The M-10000 was an early American streamlined passenger trainset that operated for the Union Pacific Railroad from 1934 until 1941. It was the first streamlined passenger train to be delivered in the United States, and the second to enter regular service after the Pioneer Zephyr of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.
A tonneau is an area of a car, truck, or boat open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo. When applied to trucks it refers to their bed or tray.
Duple Coachbuilders was a coach and bus bodybuilder in England from 1919 until 1989.
A glossary of terms relating to automotive design.
Cab-over, also known as cab over engine (COE), cab forward or flat face (U.S.), flat nose (Canada), or forward control (UK), is a body style of truck, bus, or van that has a vertical front, "flat face" or a semi-hood, with the cab of the truck sitting above the front axle. This contrasts with a conventional truck where the engine is mounted in front of the driver.
The Diamond T Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer. They produced commercial and military trucks.
The Ford Thames 400E is a commercial vehicle that was made by Ford UK and introduced in 1957. Production of the range continued until September 1965, by which time a total of 187,000 had been built. Publicity for the model included hiring the Cy Laurie band to make the promotional film short 'Band Wagon', in 1958, preserved in the 'Ford Film and Video Collection' at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu
The UAZ-452 is a family of four wheel drive off-road vans and light trucks with body-on-frame construction and cab over engine design, built by the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant (UAZ) since 1965. Originally designed for the Soviet military, since 1985 the vans received updates: more modern engines and internationally compliant lighting, as well as new model numbers, UAZ-3741 for the standard van, while (crew-cab) trucks mostly starting with UAZ-3303, often with one or two extra digits specifying the version. From 1997, bigger UAZ-33036 truck variants with a 25 cm (10 in) longer wheelbase, and taller soft-top roof bows and drop-sides were added.
The Pontiac Torpedo was a full-sized car produced by Pontiac from the 1940 through the 1948 model year. When released, it was the biggest Pontiac, used an 8-cylinder engine, and it had more standard features than other Pontiacs. Although the Torpedo name was exclusive to the highest line of Pontiacs in 1940, in 1941 the name was applied to all Pontiacs in three separate lines. The Custom Torpedoes were now top-of-the-line name, while the DeLuxe Torpedo became the base line, and the Streamline Torpedo became the middle line of Pontiacs. All Torpedo models could be had with either a 6-cylinder or 8-cylinder engine beginning in 1941. From 1942 to 1948 the Torpedo name designated only the base line of Pontiacs. The Torpedo was replaced by the Pontiac Chieftain in 1949. It was with this generation that all GM vehicles experienced increased width dimensions to accommodate three passengers on the front bench seat and an additional three passengers on rear bench seat installed vehicles. This was accomplished with the deletion of running board thereby adding additional room inside the passenger compartment.
The Austin 40 hp is a 4-cylinder motor car launched at the Olympia Motor Show in November 1907. Manufactured by Austin at Longbridge, Northfield, Birmingham, it was the first variant from Austin's initial plans for a two model range of a 15 hp —which they had dropped—and a 25 hp car.
Torpedo – Continental term for an open four-seat car with soft hood and sporting tendencies and in which the line of the bonnet was continued back to the rear of the car.
When cabs were modularized in the 2-series in 1980, the first version to be launched was the bonneted cab, the so-called T-cab, with a torpedo-like design.
To meet the more conservative demands of specific sectors of the market, DAF introduced its first bonneted truck in 1957, with mechanical specifications similar to the cab-over-engine models. Generically known as the 'Torpedo' series, these new trucks were initially supplied as a chassis and bonnet, allowing coachbuilders to construct the cabs.