Fastback - History

History

Automobile designs that were ahead of their time when exhibited during the early 1930s included "teardrop streamlining at the rear, similar to what would become known as 'fastback' 25 years later." 'Fastback' was first recognized as a definition by Merriam-Webster in 1954, many years before the term 'hatchback' was popularized and entered the dictionary in 1970. Opinions vary as to whether the terms are mutually exclusive.

A contributor to an automotive-interest website singles out the unusual Stout Scarab from the early 1930s as "ossibly the epitome of the early fastback definition". The Packard 1106 Twelve Aero Sport Coupe, introduced in 1933, is cited elsewhere as a fastback that foreshadowed trends which continued into the 1940s.

Early European fastback automobiles include: Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic, Tatra T87, Porsche 356, Saab 92/96, Standard Vanguard, GAZ-M20 Pobeda, and Bentley Continental R-Type.

Numerous fastbacks were also made in America, where the style was previously called "torpedo back". They included Cadillac's Series 61 and 62 Club Coupes as well as various models from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.

At the 2007 EyesOn Design annual car show, entries from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s in a class called "Fabulous Fastbacks" included Nash Ambassador, Buick Roadmaster and Hudson Commodore models. A "Return of the Fastbacks" class at this show included examples from the 1960s and 1970s with a Buick Riviera, Ford Mustang Cobra, and an AMC AMX among others.

At a 2007 concours d'élégance in England, a similarly named class for 1950s cars attracted examples from Maserati, Lancia, Fiat and Ferrari.