fastback

A fastback is often defined as having a single slope from the roof to the rear of the vehicle.{{cite web|url= http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fastback |title=fastback |work=Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary |year=2010 |access-date=1 March 2016}}

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| image1 = 1974 Leyland Force 7V Coupe (48296806101).jpg

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| caption1 = The 1974 Leyland P76 can be considered both a fastback (with a single uninterrupted slope from the roofline to the rear) and a liftback that is hinged at the roof

| image2 = 1965 Rambler Marlin fastback 2015-AMO meet in red and black 3of6.jpg

| caption2 = 1965 Rambler Marlin fastback with trunk lid and a fixed rear window{{cite news|url= https://www.registerguard.com/story/business/automotive/2020/11/16/cars-we-remember-amc-marlin/1047883007/ |title=Cars We Remember: AMC Marlin: A fastback family car that was not a muscle car |first=Greg |last=Zyla |date=16 November 2020 |work=The Register Guard |access-date=6 February 2024}}

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Traditionally a fastback will have a trunk opening that is separate from the rear window which remains in a fixed position.{{cite web|url= https://www.carkeys.co.uk/guides/what-is-a-fastback |title=What is a fastback? |date=7 April 2017 |website=carkeys.co.uk |access-date=6 February 2024}} The term "fastback" is not interchangeable with "liftback"; the former describes the car's shape, and the latter refers to a roof-hinged tailgate that lifts upwards for storage area access.

More specifically, the Road & Track Illustrated Automotive Dictionary defines the fastback as

A closed body style, usually a coupe but sometimes a sedan, with a roof sloped gradually in an unbroken line from the windshield to the rear edge of the car. A fastback naturally lends itself to a hatchback configuration and many have it, but not all hatchbacks are fastbacks and vice versa.{{cite book|last=Dinkel |first=John |year=2000 |title=Road & Track Illustrated Automotive Dictionary |publisher=Bentley |isbn=0-8376-0143-6 }}

In the case of the Ford Mustang, the term "fastback" is used to differentiate against the coupé notchback body style,{{cite web|title=1965 Ford Mustang Fastback Guide |url= https://classics.autotrader.com/articles/1965-ford-mustang-fastback-guide |website=autotrader.com |access-date=17 April 2018}}{{cite web|title=1967 Mustang Specifications |url= http://www.mustangspecs.com/years/67.shtml |website=mustangspecs.com |access-date=17 April 2018}} which has a steeper rear window followed by a horizontal trunk lid.

Automobile designers in the 1930s began using elements of aircraft aerodynamics to streamline the boxy-looking vehicles of their day.{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dmVQc0XKjVUC&q=In+the+1930s,+the+principle+was+further+stretched+to+become+'streamlining'&pg=PA16 |page= 16 |title= Golden Miles: Sex, Speed and the Australian Muscle Car |first= Clinton |last= Walker |publisher= Wakefield Press |year= 2009 |isbn= 9781862548541 |access-date= 24 December 2015}} Such designs, which were ahead of their time when exhibited during the early 1930s, included a droplet-like streamlining of the car's rear, a configuration similar to what would become known as the "fastback" 25 years later.{{cite book |editor-last= Georgano |editor-first=Nick N. |author-link=G. N. Georgano |title= The Beaulieu encyclopedia of the automobile |publisher= Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers |year= 2000 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bxMUKaqcUPoC&q=fastback+automobile+origin&pg=RA1-PA960 |isbn= 978-1-57958-293-7 |page= 960 |access-date= 11 June 2012 }} Merriam-Webster first recognized the term "fastback" in 1954, many years before the popularization of the term "hatchback", which entered the dictionary in 1970.{{cite web|url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hatchback |title= hatchback |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date= 24 December 2015}} Opinions vary as to whether the terms are mutually exclusive.

Early examples of fastback cars include the 1929 Auburn Cabin Speedster, 1933 Cadillac V-16 Aerodynamic Coupe, 1935 Stout Scarab,{{cite web |url= http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/event/146/2007-EyesOn-Design.html |last= Clements |first=Rob |title=EyesOn Design 2007 Report |website=ultimatecarpage.com |access-date= 24 December 2015}} 1933 Packard 1106 Twelve Aero Sport Coupe,{{cite book|last=Adler |first=Dennis |title= Packard |publisher=MotorBooks/MBI |year=2004 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9VByLctg5UAC&q=Packard+fastback&pg=PA60 |isbn=978-0-7603-1928-4 |page=960 |access-date= 24 December 2015}} Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic, Tatra 87, Porsche 356, Saab 92/96, Standard Vanguard, GAZ-M20 Pobeda, and Bentley Continental R-Type.

File:Fatback IT.svg (hence less drag) than conventional three-box (Tre volumi) designs]]

Fastbacks provide an advantage in developing aerodynamic vehicles with a low drag coefficient.{{cite web |url= http://aerowarriors.com/gswtt.html |last=Noffsinger |first=Ken R. |website=aerowarriors.com |title=The G-Series Wind Tunnel Test Report |date=June 2012 |access-date=6 February 2024}} For example, although lacking a wind tunnel, Hudson designed its post-World War II cars to look aerodynamic, and "tests conducted by Nash later found that the Hudson had almost 20% less drag than contemporary notchback sedans".{{cite web |url= https://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/step-down-hudsons/ |title=Step-Down: The 1948-1954 Hudsons |first=Aaron |last=Severson |date=6 September 2009 |work=Ate Up With Motor |access-date=6 February 2024}} However, the aerodynamic teardrop shape meant lower headroom for rear seat passengers, limited visibility to the rear for the driver, and also meant a less practical, elongated rear end design.{{cite web|url= https://automobible.com/kammback/ |title=Kammback Is the Art of Making Air Flow Over Air |first=Danillo |last=Almeida |date=3 February 2023 |website=automobible.com |access-date=6 February 2024}}

In Australia, fastbacks (known as "slopers") were introduced in 1935, first designed by General Motors' Holden as one of the available bodies on Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, and Pontiac chassis. The sloper design was added by Richards Body Builders in Australia to Dodge and Plymouth models in 1937; it was subsequently adopted by Ford Australia in 1939 and 1940, as well as a sloper style made on Nash chassis.{{cite web |url= http://www.handpub.com.au/Sloper-Page.php |title=The Sloper Page |work=Hand Publishing |access-date= 24 December 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032049/http://www.handpub.com.au/Sloper-Page.php |archive-date= 4 March 2016}} According to automotive historian G.N. Georgano, "the Slopers were advanced cars for their day".

[https://books.google.com/books?id=dmVQc0XKjVUC&pg=PA18&dq=Nick+Georgano+admits+the+Slopers+were+advanced+cars+for+their+day Walker, p. 18.]

In Europe, there was a sloping rear on streamlined cars as early as 1945, from which the shapes of the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 356 are derived.

In Japan, the Toyota AA first adopted the fastback style in 1936. It was strongly influenced by the 1933 DeSoto Airflow. The 1965 Mitsubishi Colt 800 was the first post-war Japanese fastback,[https://nosweb.jp/articles/detail/1617 サイドガラスは上ヒンジ！　日本初のファストバックスタイルは三菱の水島製作所が作ったこの車｜1968年式 三菱 コルト1000F 2ドアDX　Vol.1] – Nosweb.jp and the 1958 Subaru 360 was the first kei fastback. The Prince Skyline 1900 Sprint was developed by Prince Motor Company in 1963, but was never marketed.[https://octane.jp/articles/detail/2267/1/1/1 プリンス自動車のインサイドストーリ―第5回│プリンスが自作した1900スプリント] – octane.jp

Afterwards, all Japanese automakers adopted the fastback style, with the 1967 Honda N360, 1968 Nissan Sunny Coupe,[https://web.motormagazine.co.jp/_ct/17231365 【旧車】初代サニークーペ「名機A型エンジンを搭載した小さな傑作車」] – Webモーターマガジン 1968 Mazda Familia Rotary Coupe,[https://web.motormagazine.co.jp/_ct/17284335 【昭和の名車 18】マツダ ファミリア ロータリークーペ（昭和43年：1968年）] – Webモーターマガジン 1970 Suzuki Fronte "Sting Ray Look", and 1971 Daihatsu Fellow Max.[https://kuruma-news.jp/post/227299 昔はスタイルを優先していた!?　秀逸なデザインの個性派軽自動車5選] – くるまのニュース From the late 1960s to the 1970s, American coke bottle styling became popular in Japan, as seen on Toyota's 1973 Celica "Liftback".{{cite web|url= https://petrolicious.com/articles/this-toyota-celica-liftback-gt-beautifully-couples-japanese-and-american-design |title=This Toyota Celica Liftback GT Beautifully Couples Japanese And American Design |date=2017-05-15 |website=petrolicious.com |first=Alex |last=Sobran |access-date= 2020-09-07}}{{cite web|url= https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1971-77-toyota-celica|title=1971-'77 Toyota Celica|date=2016-01-01 |publisher=Hemmings Motor News |first=Jeff |last=Koch |access-date=2020-09-07}}{{cite web|url= https://www.automobilemag.com/news/1976-1977-toyota-celica-gt-liftback/ |title=Collectible Classic: 1976-1977 Toyota Celica GT Liftback |date= 2010-12-03 |work=Automobile Magazine |first=Jim |last=Fets |access-date= 2020-09-07 }}

In North America, the numerous marketing terms for the fastback body style included "aerosedan", "club coupe", "sedanette" and "torpedo back".{{cite magazine |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799725-2,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090131072437/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799725-2,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 31 January 2009 |title=The Forty-Niners |magazine=Time |date= 24 January 1949 |access-date= 24 December 2015}} Cars included Cadillac's Series 61 and 62 Club Coupes, as well as various other models from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.

From the early 1940s until 1950, nearly every domestic manufacturer offered at least one fastback body style within their model lineups. Although the styling was good, the cars had less trunk capacity compared to the notchback designs.{{citation |date=11 April 2017 |title=Buick's Stylish, Impractical Fastbacks |first=Donald |last=Pittenger |work=The Style Critic}} In the mid-1960s, the style was revived on many GM and Ford products until the mid-1970s.

Marketing terminology changed in 2004, with the launch of the first generation Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class. It was described as a 4-door coupé, a purely marketing term describing its fastback sedan arrangement, with fastback coupé-profiled bodywork and two doors on each side. The design reinterpreted the concept used in the 1992-1997 Infiniti J30/Nissan Leopard J Férié, which is not a true fastback.

This marketing term was followed by other competing models, such as the Audi A7 and the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupé, Audi A5 Sportback, BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé, Volkswagen CC, Volkswagen Arteon, Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, Togg T10F, Aston Martin Rapide, and Porsche Panamera.

• List of fastback automobiles
• Coupe
• Sedan
• Hatchback
• Liftback
• Kammback

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{{Commons category|position=left|Fastbacks}}

{{Automobile configuration}}

Category:Car body styles

Category:Automotive styling features

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