09/28/2026
In 1936, an American automobile could still look completely unlike anything parked beside it.
That is part of what makes the Cord 810 so fascinating. At first glance, it almost seems too modern for the decade in which it appeared. The body sits unusually low, the traditional upright radiator grille is gone, the headlights disappear into the front fenders, and the nose is covered with horizontal louvers that give the car an unmistakable character.
But this was not a futuristic concept car sitting on an exhibition stand. The Cord 810 was a production automobile built in America.
These photographs show the kind of details that made the car so unusual. The upper photograph presents the whole machine in its surroundings, while the closer view draws attention to the front-end design. Look carefully at the nose and the absence of the tall grille that had become so familiar on American automobiles of the period. Instead, the Cord presents a much cleaner, more unified shape.
The design was created under Gordon Buehrig, whose work would become closely associated with some of the most memorable American automobiles of the prewar era. The 810's body was not simply decorated with fashionable details. Its proportions and engineering were closely connected to the way the automobile was constructed.
One of the biggest differences was hidden underneath the body: the Cord used front-wheel drive. That allowed the designers to create a lower overall shape because the traditional drivetrain arrangement of the period was changed substantially. The result was an automobile that looked remarkably different from many conventional American cars of the mid-1930s.
Then there were the headlights.
Instead of sitting prominently on top of the front fenders, the Cord's headlights could be concealed inside them. When closed, they disappeared into the bodywork. When opened, they immediately revealed one of the car's most recognizable features.
The engine was a Lycoming V8 of about 288 cubic inches, advertised at 125 horsepower. For the time, this was a serious piece of machinery, and the combination of the V8 and front-wheel-drive layout gave the 810 a technical personality that matched its unusual appearance.
The automobile was offered in several body styles during 1936, including the Westchester and Beverly sedans, along with convertible-oriented versions. The Westchester seen here was a substantial automobile, but its low proportions made it look different from the taller, more upright cars Americans were accustomed to seeing.
And that contrast is important.
The mid-1930s were a complicated period for the American automobile industry. The country was still living through the Great Depression, yet automobile manufacturers continued experimenting with styling, engineering, comfort, and new ways of presenting the automobile as an object of modern life.
The Cord 810 represented that spirit of experimentation.
It was not simply trying to be another large American sedan. Its designers were attempting something more radical: to make the body, mechanical layout, and visual identity work together as one design.
That is why photographs of the 810 still reward close inspection today. The details are everywhere. The horizontal louvers. The concealed headlights. The smooth fenders. The unusual proportions. The absence of conventional running-board styling. Even the wheel covers were designed to complement the surrounding bodywork.
Yet the story of the Cord is not simply one of technical triumph. The company faced serious financial and production difficulties, and the ambitious automobile proved difficult to bring to market smoothly. Production of the 810 began in 1936, followed by the 812 in 1937, but the Cord name would not become the mass-market success its dramatic appearance might have suggested.
That makes surviving examples especially interesting.
Today, when people see a Cord 810, they often recognize it immediately even if they have never studied prewar automobiles. Its silhouette is so distinctive that it does not need a badge or a large sign to announce what it is.
Imagine seeing one for the first time in 1936.
You are walking down an American street. Cars are parked along the road. Most have tall grilles, separate fenders, running boards, and familiar upright proportions. Then this low automobile appears, its headlights hidden away and its nose covered with horizontal louvers.
It must have looked almost like something from another decade.
That is perhaps the most interesting thing about the Cord 810. It reminds us that automotive history was never a straight line from old-fashioned cars to modern ones. Designers experimented, manufacturers took risks, and some ideas arrived decades before they became commonplace.
The 810 was one of those experiments.
Today it survives as a remarkable snapshot of what American automobile designers were willing to attempt in the middle of the 1930s.
And looking at a photograph like this, it is easy to understand why the Cord still stops people in their tracks.
Would you have recognized this car if you saw it parked on an American street in 1936?
