Prototype Lincoln Zephyr Automobile Designed by John Tjaarda, 1934

Edsel Ford encouraged John Tjaarda -- head of design engineering for Briggs Manufacturing Company, which built car bodies for Lincoln -- to create a full-sized, detailed mockup of a rear-engine automobile. Ford exhibited the resulting car at the 1934 Century of Progress exposition in Chicago. Tjaarda's streamlined design became the prototype for the 1936 Lincoln Zephyr production car.