Pic-A-Day (1000) Albert Mach Fine Art

Wow 1000 days of Pic-A-Day posts! (And I have many thousands more wonderful images to go…)

1938 Graham Sharknose Model 97 4 door sedan

The “Spirit of Motion” Straight Six Supercharged!

The following information is from Hemmings Motor News.

Link: https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hmn/2009/10/Spirit-of-Motion/2127...

Spirit of Motion

The daring 'Sharknose' failed to keep Graham afloat

     Desperate times, the old saying goes, call for desperate measures, and Graham in the late Thirties found itself up to its gills in desperation. Sales were off and red ink was lapping at the accountants' ankles, in spite of the company's bold step of offering a supercharged six-cylinder in the mid-priced field. Clearly what was called for was a daring new design that would recapture Graham's position as a style leader.

     The job of designing the new Grahams for 1938 went to Amos E. Northup, the chief designer for body builder Murray Corporation. During his career with Murray, Northup had done a number of designs for the company's customers, including the graceful Willys 77, the 1931 REO Royale Eight and Graham's trend-setting Blue Streak of 1932.

     Northup's experience in designing streamlined locomotives and ocean liners shone through in his new design for Graham. Some of his ideas, such as fully enclosed fenders that flowed into the body sides, would be left for other manufacturers to pioneer, but the most arresting feature made it into production: the forward-leaning grille and front fenders. Graham called the design "the Spirit of Motion"; the public dubbed it the "Sharknose."

Michael Lamm summed up the effect in the very first issue of Special Interest Autos, back in 1970: "The striking, leaning-into-the-wind profile copied old racing photographs, in which the camera shutter made all fast cars look like they were trying to outrun themselves. Even standing still, the Graham seemed to be moving," he wrote. Designers of the day considered the Streamline Moderne look to be not just a fresh idea, but a tonic for a Depression-weary nation. "Streamlining is the first new and uniquely American approach that the public could associate with progress and a better life," said Henry Dreyfuss, the designer of the 20th Century Limited streamlined locomotive that linked New York and Los Angeles. The "Spirit of Motion" was the toast of Europe.

Unfortunately for Graham, Americans turned up their noses at the new cars. Was it because of the styling, or because buyers sensed that Graham was dead in the water, and did not want to buy a car that was about to become an orphan? It's hard to say. Graham had no money for a redesign, and in desperation cut its prices. Sales of the Sharknose amounted to just 4,139 in its first year, a drop of 10,000 from the less distinctive 1938s, and continued to fall. The projecting nose was made slightly more upright for 1940, but sales were at a trickle by then, totaling just 1,856 for the year. Northup would never know about the design's failure; he slipped on an icy sidewalk and suffered a fatal head injury in February 1937, while the car was still under development.

Today, a Sharknose Graham is a rare, and welcome, sight. We spotted Charles Mallory's 1939 Graham Supercharged Combination Coupe at this year's Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Greenwich, Connecticut, where its lines won more than a few admirers.

This article originally appeared in the October, 2009 issue of Hemmings Motor News.

Please note:

The owners of the vehicles have allowed their cars to be shown at the museum but this has been with the understanding that any images of these will not be used for a commercial purpose.

Out of respect for the museum and the owners these are shown here for educational purposes and for your enjoyment however I repeat, THIS IMAGE IS NOT FOR SALE!