Graham-Paige Graham Blue Streak History

The 1932 Graham, styled by Amos Northup, took its 'Blue Streak' nickname from the name of its new straight-eight engine and quickly applied it to the whole car. Its skirted (enclosed) fenders, sloped grille, headlamps faired into the body and the 'banjo' frame that let the body sit lower were widely and quickly copied across the industry.

Graham promoted the car as having been developed with wind-tunnel testing, part of a broader aeronautics-inspired streamlining trend. The look proved so influential that the Blue Streak is routinely named among the most copied and important production-car designs of the decade.

The Blue Streak styling carried Graham's mainstream models from 1932 through 1935 and set up the supercharged eights that followed. Amos Northup, the designer behind it, also shaped Graham's later 'Spirit of Motion' cars before his death in 1937.