Bendix SWC
| Bendix SWC | |
|---|---|
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Bendix Corporation |
| Model years | 1934 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Mid-size prototype |
| Body style | Four-door, five passenger sedan |
| Platform | Box-section central member with front and rear subframes |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Continental L-head Series 25A straight six |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 3,048 mm (120.0 in) |
| Length | 5,181.6 mm (204.0 in) |
| Width | 1,524 mm (60.0 in) |
| Height | 1,600.2 mm (63.0 in) |
| Curb weight | 1,444.692 kg (3,185.0 lb) |
The Bendix SWC is a one-of-a-kind, hand built prototype concept car built in 1934. It is a four-door, five-passenger sedan sedan that was designed by Alfred Ney of the Bendix Corporation in South Bend, Indiana. Although considered a proof-of-concept vehicle rather than a true prototype for future production, the Bendix SWC is regarded as ahead of its time because of its innovative features, incorporating front wheel-drive, four-wheel hydraulic brakes with open drums for better cooling, and four-wheel independent suspension that used A-arms mounted in rubber blocks in place of conventional springs. The styling was similar to other examples of automotive streamlining such as the contemporary DeSoto Airflow and Chrysler Airflow.
Vincent Bendix and Victor Kliesrath, his vice president in charge of engineering, were instrumental in the design and development of the Bendix SWC. With the acquisition of the Peerless Motor Company in 1931, Bendix began to contemplate a return to automobile production. His early venture from 1907-1909 had resulted in a limited production of 7,000 vehicles before production ceased.
To show the capabilities of the Bendix Corporation. the new car would incorporate many of the Bendix products such as the famed Bendix Startex system, Scintilla magnetos, Stromberg carburetors, Pioneer instruments and Bragg-Kliesrath vacuum brake boosters. With General Motors, however, as a shareholder in the company and U.S. automakers his main clientele, Bendix feared that his car would be seen as competition to his biggest clients. The top-secret program was set up with a "dummy" company designation, the "Steel Wheel Corporation". The SWC designation on the project was intended to further disguise the true intentions of the project.
With the work carried out in secret, Bendix directed a young engineer, Alfred M. Ney, to design a car based on a unit-body platform with front drive. When the preliminary blueprints were finished, a small team of designers and mechanics were enlisted to flesh out the design. William F. Ortwig, who had done work for Fisher Body coachbuilders, created a streamlined body design.
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