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Our Two Cents: Peak Fin
As styling elements go, it’s hard to argue against the tailfin. The first fin on a production automobile appeared on the 1934 Tatra 77, a striking central element emerging like a dorsal fin from the roof’s trailing edge as a prominent feature of the sloping rear engine cover.
It wasn’t until the 1948 Cadillac, however, that we’d see a pair of small, subtle fins deployed aft of the fenders, the product of Harley Earl and designer Franklin Hershey, both of whom had been floored by the appearance of the Lockheed P-38 fighter plane they had seen just before the war. The design was a hit, and the prominence of Cadillac’s tailfins soared, with ever-larger, ever-sharper fins the perfect accompaniment to the rise of the jet age. Other manufacturers quickly followed suit, each with its own take on this distinctive, entirely superfluous feature.
For this week’s installment of Our Two Cents, we asked Hagerty Media staffers to give us their idealized version of the fin. After some confusion, we made it clear that Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas were off the table—cars only please—and here’s where we landed.
NASCAR Champagne
I was always a fan of the 1956 Chrysler 300B, especially the ones raced by Carl Kiekhaefer to a couple of NASCAR championships. These fins say, “Hey, I have fins, but I’m surprisingly cultured.”—Steven Cole Smith
The Double Nickel
I’m gonna go with the 1955 Chevy. I think I might be in the minority when it comes to my favorite Tri-Five fin, but I like the subtle fin over the larger ’56 fin and the bombastic ’57 flipper.—Cameron Neveu
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BATman
Gotta be the Alfa Romeo BAT cars for me. Three cars—BAT 5, BAT 7, BAT 9—all designed by Franco Scaglione at Bertone. They’re all wild and they all have fins for days, but I think the middle child, BAT 7, is the prettiest, and certainly the finniest, with massive blue appendages that from the back look like a stingray or large fish ready to power through the water.—Andrew Newton
Form AND Function!
I’m going with the 1989 Cadillac DeVille, for two reasons: 1) The floor-to-ceiling taillights made their way onto any customized GMT-400 truck worth a damn; and 2) They were sleek and streamlined as if tuned by a wind tunnel, but they were also long and flowing, as they should be for a Caddy. Bonus: They were tailfins that withstood a 5-mph impact! What more could you possibly ask for?—Sajeev Mehta
Form. Just Form.
For me, it’s the ’59 Cadillac. When it comes to fins, it’s all about the ’50s, and these are the biggest, most bodacious fins of them all. They’re tall, they’re lined in chrome, and smack in the middle of EACH fin is a pair of enormous torpedo taillights. (Or lipstick tubes.) Are they functional, you might ask? To which I’d reply, have you SEEN them? Who the hell cares?!—Eric Weiner
Stjärtfenan
America may have invented, inflated, and even perfected the tailfin, but I’ve always liked the far more subtle approach taken by the Europeans (Alfa BAT cars notwithstanding). Sunbeam Tigers and W111 Mercedes sedans did them well, but the real standout for me is the Volvo P1800, whose rounded, chrome-capped fins began just after the door and led into the small, separate taillights. I also appreciate that Volvo slyly incorporated the fins’ outline, if not the entire appendage, into the back end of 1800ES wagon.—Stefan Lombard
Thundercougarfalconbird
The first-gen Thunderbird is a beautiful car, with elegant lines that aren’t cluttered with overwrought design elements that would come with the four-seater model that followed innediately after. The 1957 model got a nice, subtle fin that was angled and sharper than its predecessors, and it’s one of my favorites. However, I think the best evolution of that theme came with the third-generation “Bullet Birds”. The fins look great on the production cars next to the afterburner taillights and sculpted bumper, but they shine on the Thunderbird Italien concept paired with the swoopy hardtop.—Brandan Gillogly
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The 57/58 Chrysler, Dodge, and DeSoto lines are the absolute peak of fin styling. I’m particularly partial to the 57 DeSoto Adventurer and Chrysler 300C. Especially in convertible form and with the top down.
Could someone clarify once and for all who had the tallest fin production car, 1959 Cadillac or 1961 Imperial? My personal favorite is the 1961-63 Bullet Birds with the polished edge going front to rear. And that polished trim doubled as the door handle, so nicely integrated.
By apeareance the 1960 Fury fins seemed enormous as well. I would not call that design elegant by any means.
Many people including owners of those cars called it “cartoonish”.
I like the evolution of the fins that appear on my 1961 Fleetwood better than the 59 Caddy fins but the fins on my 1960 Desoto Fireflight are pretty sweet with chrome accents on the brake light lenses
My father’s 1961 Dodge station wagon had cool fins with the tail lights sticking out from the fins as zi remember.
At 16 my mother would not let me have my Grandpa’s 56 Chrysler Windsor. I loved that car. I took Grandpa to the hospital the day before he passed away from a heart attack. I did get a 57 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer Convertible that my best friend got in a 2 car deal. I bought the Dodge for $5 with a full tank of gas. Every morning I would put the Armstrong power top down. Started the old 361 up and fill the radiator up. I would go to the filling station and put air in the leaky snow tire and head to Willow Run Village, I would go to Carone’s Body Shop to do a little work. We would then test the old Dodge out. We would park on the road in front of the shop and put the car in neutral. I’d put my foot on the gas pedal and all the way down. When she screamed just right I’d push I and the back tire would chirp and off we would go. When it started to scream again I’d push 2 and the tires would yelp again. The road was so full of pot holes I’d try not to hit them to no avail. One of us would run across the seats and jump on the trunk lid till it shut tight and as soon as we were seated I’d spin her around and do it all over again. We had a blast with her. I would take her home and park her at the end of the house so my mother couldn’t see her. That was good for a couple of weeks till Mother found her. I was told to junk her. So my buddy popped a hole in the gas tank and filled his 55 BelAire, We then towed it to the junk yard. The last I saw of her , she was on top of a stack of cars and those fins were bent almost together. I got $15 a full tank of gas and 2 of the most fun weeks a 16 year old could have, I wish I could find another one I could afford or a 56 red and white Chrysler Windsor. I loved those cars.
Many good choices, but I would add the 57 Thunderbird to the list
59-60 Buick Invicta gets my vote
What, no D-type Jaguar? How can we miss that one?
Now, you’re just trolling. There is a reason the ‘57 Bel Air stands as the most iconic car of its era.
Yes Gregg, I can’t believe the ’57 Chevy was ignored this long in these threads !! A beautiful car and so iconic. There’s a reason the are so cherished not only among the tri-fives but among so many other brands. I was so lucky to have owned one – a red 2 door hardtop BelAir.
I still have a 1957 Studebaker Hawk. It’s all about the fins. Small cars with BIG engines!
I agree with the Studebaker Hawk. I had one when I was in college and probably would not have bought it if it did not have those great fins.
For me, the pinnacle of grace in space age design was embodied in the 1960 Chrysler, punctuated by those iconic ‘boomerang’ taillights.
My parents had a 1962 Imperial. It seemed to me that they removed the fins that were so prevalent on the 1960, and 1961 Imperials but left the taillights in the same place.
I think the only car on this list that may be a true “classic” is the ’49 Cadillac.
My favorite would be the ’57 T-Bird. Classic elegance.
48 Caddy was where it started and should have stopped.
I’m even a GM guy but they pushed things too far all of them.
For what it is worth the 55 Chevy was not a fin.
I am thankful the fin never reached the Corvette.
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