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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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I agree with Exner’s Forward Look, especially the Chrysler 300C of 1957.
My very first car was a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere…I thought this was an article about tail fins…if so, let’s mention and show some real fins…
My father progressed from the Henry J small fins to a ‘57 Plymouth Plaza fins… living in Europe at the time they were the ultimate statement of American dominance… after that it was getting FINished… Time to bring them back !
Are you kidding. How could you leave out the 1959 Chevrolet and the 1958 Plymouth. Not to mention the late 50’s and early 60’s DeSoto. I remember in 1959 that people that were standing too close to a passing 1959 Impala were warned they could be sliced by those horizontal fins.
Check on the 59 Impala!
Ford should have put the Thunderbird Italien into production – gorgeous lines!
Agreed. First time I saw one was in this article. Awesome. I’d love to have one TODAY.
The 59 Caddy fins were great, but I am partial to the horizontal fins on my1960 Chevy Belair. They are nice and wide and probably help with the float of my “old Boat Chevy”
I’d like to see the height comparison between the fins on a ’59 Caddy and a ’60 Plymouth, bet they’re close.
I will have to vote on the Tri Fives, I personally own a 56 Chevy 210 2dr hdtp, I have had since 73, 1st car I have owned. Can’t believe I still have it. I love the 59 and 60 Impalas too. The ones that were featured in this article are interesting autos for sure. d
I agree with Cameron Neveu. 55 Chevy. 56 happens to be my favorite of the tri-5, with the 57 being at the end of the list.
Cadillac, over several decades, is the best when it comes to fins hands down. Chrysler very close 2nd.
P1800S and ES. Get to look at them everyday so partially biased.
King Ostentatious is the 59 Caddy.
Amen, Gary! – Four of my P1800 fins are insured by Hagerty, early ones assembled into cars by Jensen in England. They make the cars go Soooo FAST that the RED fins have beat the fins off a Ferrari Tour de France (admittedly the disc brakes played a biiger part), and the BLACK fins soundly trounced the more subltle flanks of an Aston DB4 GT, both at the Monterey Historic races. At 130mph, they are among the FASTEST over-Fifty-Five Fins around!
I like the ’57 and ’58 Plymouth as well as the ’57 Ford.
Have to go with the 59 Caddy, but I had a 57 Ford Fairlane convertible 312 V8 that had some great fins too.
I fell in love with the ’57 BelAir fins in October 1956 when the dealer uncovered the show car. I own a Tropical Turquoise & India Ivory Chevrolet BelAir 4 door hardtop with the number 1 tail fins.
I always liked the interesting take the Chevrolet Impala had on fins at the end of that era. Check out the 1960 bubbletop for an example of what I mean, they turned the fins onto their side. Cool look.
My vote goes to the boat-tail Alfa Duetto Spider… perfect interpretation of tail-fins.
While I have owned a number of very nice automobiles, by far my favorite was a 1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. For me it was a nearly perfect car: elegant, delightful lines, beautiful interior, great engine, and comfortable on long rides. To this day, I think about getting another to enjoy. Sadly this car had a premature ending when a careless kid in a Ford Bronco slammed into the right front fender and totaled this amazing car. I see 1989-1993 Devilles around my area and almost always I take a look around it, especially if is that delightful gray color. I would enjoy having another.