Torpedo (car)

For the rail car used to transport molten steel see Torpedo wagon.

The torpedo body style was a type of automobile body used from the early twentieth century until the mid-1930s; it fell quickly into disuse by World War II, and the appearance was modernized into what is now called a "hardtop".

The name was introduced in 1908 when a Belgian car dealer Captain Theo Masui, the London-based importer of French Gregoire cars, designed a streamlined body and called it "The Torpedo". ^[1] This design developed into its final form, becoming a generic term when the bonnet line was raised to be level with the car's waistline, resulting in a straight beltline from front to back.^[2]

The Torpedo body style was usually fitted to 4- or 5-seat cars. It was an open tourer with detachable or folding hood (top), and low side panels and doors, but no B pillars; 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 bonnet.^[4]

References

^ Wood, Jonathan (2008). Coachbuilding – The Hand Crafted Car Body. Oxford, UK: Shire Publications. ISBN 978-0-7478-0688-2.
^ Roberts, Peter (1974). "Carriage to Car". Veteran and Vintage Cars. London, UK: Octopus Books. p. 111. ISBN 0-7064-0331-2. Torpedo – Continental term for an open four-seat tourer with soft hood and sporting tendencies and in which the line of the bonnet was continued back to the rear of the car.
^ "Antique, Vintage and Classic Car Terms and Definitions". antiquecar.com. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
^
Sources:
- Brunninge, Olof (2007). "1 Scania's bonneted trucks". In Lerpold, Lin; Ravasi, Davide; van Rekom, Johan; et al. (eds.). Organizational Identity in Practice. Abingdon, Oxford, UK: Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-415-39839-8. 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. {{cite book}}: horizontal tab character in |chapter= at position 2 (help)
- Peck, Colin (2010). "The 1950s – new factories, new trucks and buses". DAF Trucks Since 1949. Poundbury, Dorset, UK: Veloce Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-845842-60-4. 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.

This automobile-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[WoodCoachbuilding-1] Wood, Jonathan (2008). Coachbuilding – The Hand Crafted Car Body. Oxford, UK: Shire Publications. ISBN 978-0-7478-0688-2.

[VVCp111-2] Roberts, Peter (1974). "Carriage to Car". Veteran and Vintage Cars. London, UK: Octopus Books. p. 111. ISBN 0-7064-0331-2. Torpedo – Continental term for an open four-seat tourer with soft hood and sporting tendencies and in which the line of the bonnet was continued back to the rear of the car.

[antiquecar.com-3] "Antique, Vintage and Classic Car Terms and Definitions". antiquecar.com. Retrieved 2008-01-23.

[TorpedoTruck-4] Sources:
Brunninge, Olof (2007). "1 Scania's bonneted trucks". In Lerpold, Lin; Ravasi, Davide; van Rekom, Johan; et al. (eds.). Organizational Identity in Practice. Abingdon, Oxford, UK: Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-415-39839-8. 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. {{cite book}}: horizontal tab character in |chapter= at position 2 (help)

Peck, Colin (2010). "The 1950s – new factories, new trucks and buses". DAF Trucks Since 1949. Poundbury, Dorset, UK: Veloce Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-845842-60-4. 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.

[5] Brunninge, Olof (2007). "1 Scania's bonneted trucks". In Lerpold, Lin; Ravasi, Davide; van Rekom, Johan; et al. (eds.). Organizational Identity in Practice. Abingdon, Oxford, UK: Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-415-39839-8. 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. {{cite book}}: horizontal tab character in |chapter= at position 2 (help)

[6] Peck, Colin (2010). "The 1950s – new factories, new trucks and buses". DAF Trucks Since 1949. Poundbury, Dorset, UK: Veloce Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-845842-60-4. 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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]