Elwood Engel had a knack for fullsize proportions. Before he joined Chrysler in 1961 to replace the ailing Virgil Exner as the head of design, he’d already had a successful stint in Ford’s studio, with the iconic 1961 Lincoln Continental at the top of his resumé.
At Chrysler, he co-styled the landmark Turbine car, of which 50 prototypes were built. It had a distinct Jet Age aesthetic that influenced other production models and evolved into the “fuselage” design language that was seen in models like the 1968 Dodge Charger, and was realized fully in the 1969 Chrysler 300.
Chrysler touted the fuselage look as a “sweeping new design” that, like the jet airliners that symbolized modern transportation of the day, was sleek and trim-appearing. There were no protruding bumpers or other appendages, while the grille and hidden headlamps were sunken into a single opening within the chromeringed front bumper. There was also a sleek, slim, horizontal taillamp panel integrated in a similarly styled rear bumper.
It wasChrysler 300 incorporated some sportier touches, including available bucket seats and a console with a floor-mounted shifter for the TorqueFlite automatic transmission.
