Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow History
History
Unveiled at the 1933 New York Auto Show, the original Silver Arrow was a radically streamlined V-12 fastback by designer Phil Wright — envelope fenders with faired-in headlamps, a smooth tail flowing from windshield to rear, recessed door handles, and no running boards. Its slogan, 'Suddenly it's 1940!', promised a future of aerodynamic design years ahead of its time.
Only five of the hand-built show cars were made, each priced at $10,000 — an astronomical sum during the worst of the Depression — so even the very rich hesitated. The car drew acclaim but no volume.
For 1934 and 1935 Pierce-Arrow sold a more conventional production 'Silver Arrow': a two-door coupe on a standard chassis that borrowed the show car's fastback tail but reverted to a traditional front end, side-mounted spares, and running boards. These production Silver Arrows were built in greater numbers but never matched the purity of the 1933 original, today one of the most celebrated of all American Art Deco automobiles.
Generations
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Silver Arrow · Streamlined V-12 fastback and production coupe
Photo: “1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow V-12 (9513966700).jpg” by Brian Sims / Wikimedia Commons , licensed under CC BY 2.0 . Cropped to 16:9.
The radically streamlined 1933 show car by Phil Wright — only five built at $10,000 each — and the toned-down 1934–1935 production coupes that carried the name.
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1933 Photo: “1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow V-12 (9513966700).jpg” by Brian Sims / Wikimedia Commons , licensed under CC BY 2.0 . Cropped to 16:9.
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Body styles
- Fastback sedan (show car)
- Coupe (production)
Notable special editions & performance variants
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1933 Silver Arrow show car
The original radically streamlined fastback by Phil Wright; only five hand-built, priced at $10,000 — an Art Deco landmark and the car the slogan 'Suddenly it's 1940!' was coined for.
Related models