automotivebriefs
10:12in productionCh. 1 · Who made it, and why/ 10:12 · ceiling 15 min
Road

Cord 810/812

Gordon Buehrig · 1936

It didn’t just look like the future — it bolted the future’s chassis to America’s road.

The Cord 810/812 is a 1936–1937 American luxury automobile designed by Gordon M. Buehrig for Cord Automobile, a division of Auburn Automobile Company. It pioneered front-wheel drive with independent front suspension in the US. It introduced hidden headlights and replaced the radiator grille with horizontal louvres — earning the 'coffin nose' nickname. Its semi-automatic transmission sat ahead of the engine, eliminating the driveshaft and transmission tunnel. It omitted running boards. Total production was 2,972 units. The Cord 812 was recognised for its originality by the Museum of Modern Art in 1951.

RoadCarsIndustrial designThe interwar yearsCars across the network →
Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 1:08
    Who made it, and why

    Gordon Buehrig designed a luxury car for Cord — a division of Auburn — in 1936.

  2. 2:43
    How it broke the rules

    It was the first American front-wheel-drive car with independent front suspension — and the first production car with hidden headlights.

  3. 4:17
    What powered it

    A 4,739 cc Lycoming V8 delivered 125 hp — modest output, but packaged radically.

  4. 6:03
    How history judged it

    Its originality was formally recognised by the Museum of Modern Art in 1951.

Worth your time?

Yes. Drive the whole thing.

4.5/ 5
What works
  • low floor
  • no transmission tunnel
  • clean side profile without running boards
  • singular, resolved silhouette
What does not
  • deliver reliability or ease of service
  • offer rear-wheel-drive balance or feedback
Drive it if
  • people who study how form follows function
  • people who study how function forces form
Skip it if
  • drivers seeking refinement
  • drivers seeking proven dynamics
  • drivers seeking service infrastructure
The written brief1 min read

What the car is and where it came from

The Cord 810/812 is a luxury automobile produced by the Cord Automobile division of the Auburn Automobile Company in 1936–1937. Gordon M. Buehrig designed it.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

It places the engine and semi-automatic four-speed transmission ahead of the driver, driving the front wheels. This layout eliminates the driveshaft and transmission tunnel. The front-wheel drive uses independent front suspension. The headlights retract into the body. The nose has horizontal louvers instead of a radiator grille.

What it gets right

It gets the packaging right: low floor, no tunnel, clean side profile without running boards. It gets the visual statement right: the ‘coffin nose’ louvres and pop-up headlights create a singular, resolved silhouette.

What it does not

It does not deliver reliability or ease of service. Its complex transmission and novel layout created durability and maintenance challenges. It does not offer rear-wheel-drive balance or feedback.

What it changed

It proved front-wheel drive with independent suspension could be packaged in a production American luxury car. It made hidden headlights and grilleless front ends viable design propositions for mass-market manufacturers.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for people who study how form follows function — and how function forces form. It is not for drivers seeking refinement, proven dynamics, or service infrastructure.

Is it worth your time

Yes. It is a rare, documented pivot in automotive architecture — not for what it perfected, but for what it dared to omit and rearrange.

Same garage · Road4 of 107
13:50
Alfa Romeo TonaleAlfa Romeo Centro Stile · 2022The Alfa Romeo Tonale is a compact luxury crossover SUV launched in February 2022. It is Alfa Romeo’s first hybrid vehicle and first new model in six years. It sits between the Junior and Stelvio in the SUV lineup. It uses a modified SCCS platform shared with the Jeep Compass. It offers mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants, the latter with a 15.5 kWh battery and 48 km electric range. It was delayed from 2021 to 2022 due to semiconductor shortages and drivetrain requirements. A rebadged version, the Dodge Hornet, launched in North America in August 2022.
9:14
Renault Alpine GTA/A610Heuliez · 1984The Renault Alpine GTA is a rear-engined sports coupé launched in 1985 by Alpine under full Renault ownership. It replaced the A310, sharing its layout and V6 PRV engine. Marketed as the Alpine V6 GT or V6 Turbo in Europe—and as the Renault GTA in Britain—it featured aerodynamic design (Cx 0.28–0.30), lightweight composite body panels, and a steel backbone chassis. Production spanned 1984–1995, totalling ~7,300 units across both GTA and A610 models.
9:25
Audi A2Luc Donckerwolke · 1999The Audi A2 is a compact MPV-styled supermini produced by Audi from November 1999 to August 2005. Luc Donckerwolke designed both its 1997 Al2 concept and production form. It uses aluminium spaceframe construction, resulting in an average weight of 830 kg and class-leading efficiency — including the 3L diesel variant, Europe’s first five-door under-3 L/100 km. Built on a dedicated aluminium line in Neckarsulm, it featured advanced aerodynamics (Cd 0.25–0.29), a service hatch, and start-stop. Despite innovation and praise for design, it incurred €7,530 loss per unit and sold only 176,377 examples before discontinuation.
11:27
Bentley Continental GTDirk van Braeckel · 2003The 2003 Bentley Continental GT is a grand touring car. It launched after Volkswagen AG acquired Bentley in 1998. It was the first Bentley built using mass production techniques. It uses a 6.0 litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine and Torsen-based permanent four-wheel drive. The coupé has no B-pillar and fixed front quarter glass. Dirk van Braeckel designed it to outsell the Arnage. It sold 5,983 units in 2004 — 62% above forecast.
Up next in Automotive

Czinger 21C

Dave O'Connell · 2021 · 9:14

A 3D-printed, tandem-seat hybrid with a central V8 — engineering as provocation, not evolution.

Play nextBack to Road
9:14