Chevy produced the 1932 Moonlight Speedster from 1931 to 1932 specifically for Australian markets and built this 2-door coupe to make them feel like they were riding a dingo or a lovely boat. This was quite far from the company’s all-American type of vehicles and proved to be quite an interesting bet.
The car featured an I6 engine and reached a max speed of just over 60 miles per hour. Its body was based on the 1929 Vauxhall Hurlingham and made entirely out of wood. This gave the vehicle a very unique look and feel but also made it much easier to break down over time. Just ten units were made of the Moonlight Speedster, and it was eventually discontinued.
1938 Peugeot 402 Pourtout Darl'Mat Roadster
Peugeot has been selling cars since 1986. The company's roots actually date back to a company that was founded in 1810 by the Peugeot family, but that's a story for another day. In 1935, Peugeot first launched its 402 model. This was a large family car produced in Sochaux, France.
The 1938 Peugeot 402 Pourtout Darl’Mat Roadster was a very successful vehicle at the time, and the entire lineup ended up selling around 75,000 units over seven years. Its body is similar to the Chrysler Airflow and has a unique design thanks to its iconic grille and headlights. After World War II, the company shifted its focus to smaller cars, which is one of the reasons why the 402 was eventually discontinued.
1939 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Labourdette Vutotal Cabriolet
Considered the final large pre-war Rolls Royce, the 1939 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Labourdette Vutotal Cabriolet was truly the last remnant of an older generation. It was the last car that Henry Royce ever worked on, and had every bit of love poured into it as you'd expect from a Rolls Royce. The car featured an aluminum-alloy V12 pushrod engine and had a top speed of 87 miles per hour.
This was the company’s most prestigious car at the time, as just its body alone cost over $44,000. Just to make it clear, this amount of money is worth almost $800,000 when adjusted for today’s inflation. The Phantom III was extremely well received by consumers, who mostly had to admire it from a distance due to its exorbitant price.
Chrysler Airflow
Their Airflow model was one of the world's first full-size American production cars and used streamlining to decrease air resistance. This was completely different from the way most vehicles were built at the time, but Chrysler was hopeful that it would catch on. Eventually, the car turned out to be a commercial failure, but it did bring about a revolution in the car industry.
The car was originally launched in 1934 and died just 13 years later in 1947. Many vehicles took “inspiration” from the Airflow’s design, including the Volkswagen Beetle, the Peugeot 202, and even Toyota's AA car. All of these went on to become much more commercially successful than the car they were originally inspired by.
Ford Model 40 Special Speedster
The Ford Model 40 Special Speedster was a rare vehicle with only one unit ever produced. It was designed in 1934 by Edsel Bryant Ford, president of the Ford Motor Company and the only child of Henry Ford. Ford’s goal behind the Model 40 Special Speedster was to make it look as European as possible, and they succeeded quite spectacularly at it.
Since being built, the car has traveled far and wide before being sold in 2008 at a Texas auction to a car collector for the high price of $1.76 million. As high a price as this might sound, this car is a true relic of history. It was created at a time when vehicles were just in their infancy and captured the look and feel of the pre-World War II times quite amazingly.