In the meantime, the design team has been tweaking the looks. Chrysler's builders are evidently still hard at work putting together a final product that lives up to the initial hype and range target of 400 miles on a charge. That's the beauty of an EV once you have the basic design nailed down, the rest is really just an elaborate Lego project. Perhaps that's because this concept isn't yet particularly substantial. This version of the Airflow is dubbed "Graphite" and is the iteration Chrysler teased ahead of the show, but as we expected, not much of substance has really changed. ![]() The brand's first electric vehicle is due by 2025, and some variant of this definitely-not-a-revived-Celine-Dion-era-Pacifica-crossover thing is likely to be it. The car is offered with a Shelby vehicle authenticity certificate certifying that the car was owned by Carroll Shelby.Chrysler's Airflow electric crossover returned to the stage in New York Wednesday in a new exterior finish as Chrysler's development engineers creep closer and closer to their goal of taking the brand all-electric by 2028. It was, it turns out, truly a car ahead of its time. Shocking and controversial when it was introduced, the Chrysler Airflow is today appreciated and celebrated as a predecessor of modern aerodynamic cars. Today, that description is still fitting as the car is in fantastic shape with the odometer showing just under 59,000 miles. Although there is no documentation to prove this at the current time, those once close to Carroll say that this is lot 557 from the McQueen auction catalog which pictures the car and describes it as restored and in excellent condition. THE MOTORCAR OFFERED The offered Airflow is a 1935 sedan that is believed to have been purchased by Carroll Shelby from the Steve McQueen Imperial Palace auction of 1984. A powerful Chrysler L-head straight-eight, backed by a three-speed manual transmission with overdrive, powered all Airflow models. ![]() The cloth upholstery had leather accents and piping. Inspired by aircraft of the time, the Airflow's seats featured exposed chromed tubular frames. All Chrysler Airflows were closed models and their interiors were also unlike anything else on the road. ![]() Both the Airflow and the Zephyr were art moderne sensations at the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. Today, the '34 is especially prized for its resemblance to the famed streamline train, the Burlington Zephyr. The first year, with its curved "waterfall" grille, was the purest expression of the design the 1935 through '37 models had a more vertical grille, designed give them a more conventional appearance. Introduced in 1934, the Chrysler Airflow was offered until 1937. Chrysler demonstrated the Airflow's structural strength by pushing one off a 110-ft high cliff, then driving the car away. Its steel, semi-unitized body was years ahead of the competition. But it was more than its form that made the Airflow historically significant. "It bores through the air," Chrysler advertised-and they could prove it, because the Airflow had been extensively tested in the wind tunnel. ![]() 323ci L-Head Inline 8 Engine Single Down-Draft Carburetor 115bhp at 3400rpm 3-speed Manual Transmission Independent Front Suspension and Live Rear Axle 4-wheel Drum Brakes *From the personal collection of Carroll Shelby *Iconic 1930s Styling *Innovative chassis construction *Believed to have been owned by Steve McQueen THE CHRYSLER AIRFLOW The Chrysler Airflow of the mid-1930s was the first truly aerodynamic streamlined American car.
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