British Airways–1936 MG TA Airline Coupe

Heavy rain, corrugated iron roof and a cup of tea! You really can’t get more Australian than that. However, I had come to suburban Brisbane to see a very atypical, non-Australian pre-war car. Built in 1936, this MG TA is reputedly the only one in existence fitted with an Airline body made by Carbodies.

Back in the August 2013 issue of Vintage Roadcar, writer J. Michael Hemsley, in the fifth of his series Art Deco and the Automobile, looked closely at how streamlining impacted the British motor industry. In particular, Michael made reference to British Art Deco automobiles sharing a number of streamlined elements that were being used elsewhere in the world. One such element used in all British vehicles was the flowing sweeping front fenders, or guards in the local language. Instead of covering just the front wheels, the guards would flow gently into the running boards or end close to the passenger compartment. There were also a number of styles for the rear of the British Art Deco automobile and one in particular is of interest to us here—that called the “Wash-Down” effect. This is distinctly for closed cars, where the roof at the rear slopes downward at a curve with an almost concave treatment just before where the body finishes.