The Nash Statesman Super Airflyte

Have you ever watched American Pickers and wondered what, exactly, that cool car is in the opening scenes? Well, if you zoom in, you can see the Statesman Super logo on the front fender, so, I’ll fill in what I’ve been able to find, which is basically that it’s a 1950 Nash – that was quick, right? There’s more… So, now I’ll share some specs and some more detailed information about the Nash Statesman Super Airflyte.

1950 Nash Airflyte (5607911319)
By Steve Brown from Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA (1950 Nash Airflyte) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Nash Statesman Super Airflyte Info

By Laure Justice

Production Years: The Nash Statesman Super Airflyte brought a new level of aerodynamics to the automotive industry when it was first produced in 1949. It was only in production for three years, ’49, ’50; and ’51 before being redesigned for 1952 when it was released under the name Golden Airflyte.

7th Gen: This unique post-war car was actually the seventh generation of the Nash Ambassador line, and was designed in a wind tunnel to reduce its drag coefficient to a mere 0.52, as noted on the Automobile Catalog website.

Specs: At a solid 210 inches long and 77.5 inches wide, with a 121 inch wheelbase, this fastback sedan was a full-sized executive automobile powered by a naturally aspirated four-stroke Nash Six 234 engine with the capability to deliver 234.8 (CID) cubic inch displacement – or 112 (HP) horsepower. (I would like to note that How Stuff Works: Auto cites the horsepower at 85 for the Statesman and 115 for the Ambassador.)

Name Change: In 1949, this Airflyte was called the 600, it actually wasn’t until 1950 that the name Statesman was added to this Nash line, according to How Stuff Works: Auto.

Aerodynamics: Some features that added to the aerodynamics of the Nash Airflyte also landed it with the nickname “Nash Bathtub.” Those features include it’s rounded front windshield, fenders, hood, and well, pretty much everything was smoothed out to a rounded finish to reduce drag on this car.

American Pickers Antique Car
By Nbastian210 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

So, here’s a picture of the American Pickers Nash Statesman Super, with its great patina and the Antique Archaeology logo painted on the door – and I’ll just mention that if you would like to have your own Nash, there’s a very, very pretty but non-running  ’49 Nash Statesman Super Airflyte for sale on eBay as of the publication of this article.

Nash Automobiles for Sale

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