Chryslers by the Bay highlight – 1935 DeSoto Airflow

More than 200 cars came to the 2023 edition of Chryslers by the Bay, and while there were some rare Mopars at the 25th edition of this annual show in Geelong, the DeSoto ‘Airflow’ pictured was almost certainly the rarest.

Hosted by the Bay City Chrysler Car Club Inc., Chryslers by the Bay is open to all Chrysler and Chrysler family vehicles, which means Jeep and the likes of AMC and Simca are also welcome. Aussie and American Chryslers fill the field, though, and of the latter, Dodges and Plymouths are usually the most prodigious.

It’s always good to see DeSoto represented at Mopar-themed car shows, though, so the appearance of an Airflow model at this year’s Chryslers by the Bay was something very special.

A super-rare sight anywhere, especially here in Australia, this DeSoto Airflow was part of Chrysler’s attempt to bring Art Deco streamlining that had been seen in architecture, interior design and other forms of transport (mostly trains) to the automotive arena.

Both Chrysler and Plymouth introduced Airflow models for 1934, but the styling proved too radical for consumer tastes. In DeSoto’s case, just 13,940 Airflows were sold in 1934, compared to 22,736 cars the year before.

DeSoto had banked a lot on the Airflow, applying the styling range-wide (Chrysler retained a “conventional” model), so when it was snubbed by the public, they had to scramble to prepare a model with more traditional styling for the following year. Known as the ‘Airstream,’ this was sold alongside the Airflow in 1935 and 1936, after which the Airflow was abandoned, along with the 241.5ci six-cylinder engine (DeSoto’s largest to that point) it had launched with.

The Airflow show here is a 1935 model, one of just 6,797 that DeSoto built that year. Features like the angled two-piece windscreen, rear wheel spats and ‘suicide’ rear doors on sedans like this one were all standard, while the externally-mounted spare wheel was optional.

This car’s local history was unknown at time of writing, but the fact it’s right-hand drive suggests it may have been here since new. An Airflow sold through JUST CARS in 2018 said it was sold new by York Motors in Sydney. Other examples seen by JUST CARS have been RHD, too, indicating (but not confirming) that the Airflow may been a part of Australia’s new car market in the 1930s.

In 1936, its final year of production, just 5,000 Airflows were built by DeSoto, compared to more than 35,000 Airstreams.

For JUST CARS report on the 2023 Chryslers by the Bay, click HERE