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The rise and fall of the Kaiser Darrin before the Corvette and British roadsters

In the early 1s, nimble little British roadsters caused a sensation in the United States. A phenomenon that caught the Detroit industry by surprise, which reacted with light and powerful models, among which the Corvette CXNUMX stands out. However, popular companies like Kaiser Motors also wanted to enter the segment of convertible sports cars, even joining the new fever for the use of fiberglass. The result of all this is the Kaiser Darrin. A vehicle as original as it is rare today.

During the sixties the prolific North American music industry was affected by the so-called British Invasion. An avalanche of new groups capable of dazzling the massive youth audiences. All of them from the English music scene but tributaries of the artists and sounds of Blues, Rock and R&B. Black root music. Whose listening in the United States generated racial controversies while in the United Kingdom it was just that, music. For this reason, his free and unprejudiced interpretation by The Animals or The Yardbirds served as a spearhead for the later appearance of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.

Bands made up of young white men dazzled by appearances in the UK by Sony Boy Williamson or Howlin' Wolf. Two of the best black bluesman of all time. Who unintentionally were awakening a musical revolution in which the British groups landed victorious in the United States. A process with certain similarities to that experienced by motorsports during the fifties. And it is that, despite Detroit being a true factory of dreams for car lovers, the small British roadsters took the lead over national vehicles in the segment of sports models.

Small, light and with moderate displacement engines, the Triumph and Nash-Healy seemed the opposite of what was demanded by the North American public. However, the soldiers assigned to European bases were making them known in the United States. Returning many of them with one of these exotic models under their arms. In this way, pure word of mouth spread the fever for British roadsters. A fashion that even the Porsche 356 benefited from to his own major surprise german house. Thus, this invasion of European sports models caught the all-powerful Detroit-based directives by surprise.

THE AMERICAN RESPONSE TO THE BRITISH INVASION

In the midst of a race to make vehicles ever larger and more comfortable to drive, the arrival of Europe's light and twitchy convertibles dealt a blow to American industry. Of course, more in pride than in sales. well to tell the truth the large production quotas were going in family models sedan type intended for the new middle class protagonist of post-war economic expansionism. However, the big three in Detroit - Ford, Chrysler and General Motors - were not amused at all to see themselves questioned in the sports field.

Never majority in the accounts of massive brands, but always necessary in terms of corporate image and prestige. Thus, In 1953 General Motors made a bold move with the appearance of the Chevrolet Corvette C1. An open-top sports car with just 4,25 meters in length and a fiberglass body. Born with an in-line six to quickly transition to typical American V8s, but still capable of playing British roadsters in a league of their own. Undoubtedly a car as unusual for what was being done in Detroit as it was necessary to stop the British invasion.

However, the Corvette was not the only model created by the American industry in this regard. Far from it, the popular industry Kaiser Motors presented in 1953 the prototype of what a year later would be its most iconic sports car. Kaiser Darrin. One of the most interesting vehicles in North American motorsports of the XNUMXs, of which only 435 units were produced, now being true collector's items.

Therefore, the possibility of peeking one is quite brief. In fact, not a few fans in Spain have only been able to see it in the permanent exhibition of the Automotive Museum in Malaga.

KAISER DARRIN, A POPULAR MODEL UNDER ITS STRIKING BODYWORK

At this point in the article, many of you will be pining for some mechanical data. However, to properly understand Kaiser Darrin, one must first understand the parameters that encompassed his birth and fall. Regarding its birth, the mere use of fiberglass in the bodywork to leave the set in a more than brief 988 kilos speaks for itself. Evidently, like GM with its Corvette the Kaiser Darrin was a response to the British invasion. In fact quite effective, because during the first months this convertible came to record a number of orders greater than expected.

Still, its appearance a few months after the Corvette made things difficult for Kaiser Darrin. Trapped in the limitations of a company with fewer logistics, workshops and dealer network than the mighty General Motors. That's the way it is, this could not stand up to competition from the massive 1 Corvette C1953 and 1955 Ford Thunderbird. In fact, even ditching the original 90bhp in-line six from Willys for a 8bhp Cadillac-born V300 managed to position the Kaiser Darrin properly. Change registered from unit number 100, with which it was tried to provide it with an exclusive personality in design and powerful in mechanics.

Something on paper amply achieved. Since to the seductive design equipped with sliding doors - they were hidden under the wide front wings - the Kaise Darrin added some excellent finishes and a careful line in which details typical of Art Decó applied to motorsport during the Roaring Twenties resonate. Quite an achievement for a model that was actually based on the popular Henry J.

A pioneer for compact cars in the United States, which was presented with the aim of attracting buyers who, due to lack of liquidity, thought more about buying a used car than a new one. The popular and simple foundation on which, in an unforeseen way, Kaiser Motors designed the convertible for which it is most remembered today.

Photographs: Gooding & Company

PS The unit that we have used to illustrate this article will be offered on January 28, 2021 by Gooding & Company within the framework of the Santa Monica auctions (California).

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Written by Miguel Sánchez

Through the news from La Escudería, we will travel the winding roads of Maranello listening to the roar of the Italian V12; We will travel Route66 in search of the power of the great American engines; we will get lost in the narrow English lanes tracking the elegance of their sports cars; We will speed up the braking in the curves of the Monte Carlo Rally and we will even get dusty in a garage while rescuing lost jewels.

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