The 1953 Kurtis Sorrell SR-100 broke with American trends and continues to stun – as a class win at Pebble Beach testifies. Raffi Minasian is your guide Photography Evan Klein
It’s fair to say that, as a professor of Industrial Design at California College of the Arts, a frequent speaker on the history of car design, and a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance judge, I’ve seen a lot of beautifully restored examples of design excellence. But this year, while I was considering entrants in the Figoni Centennial 1923-1937 class at Pebble Beach, a largely unknown flash of burgundy rumbled into view, took its place on the 18th fairway, and jettisoned my mind from its tufted leather library chair of familiarity. The car in question? The 1953 Kurtis Sorrell SR-100 prototype.
In November 1953, Robert ‘Bob’ Vern Sorrell shocked the automotive world when his innovative creation made its world debut at the Fourth Annual International Motorama (aka the ‘Petersen Motorama’). It earned an ‘Award for Excellence’, becoming the subject of critical acclaim and notable contemporary media coverage. Then, just as soon as it had surprised and delighted everyone, it vanished from public view.
Sorrell had long held a passion for mechanical objects, and enjoyed draughting his ideas on paper. Like many from this era, on completing his military service he was eager to work in the fast-paced automobile industry. Lacking a formal education, in 1948 he enrolled at California’s El Camino College, where he studied Engineering Commercial Arts and began to lay the groundwork for his eventual professional engineering services company, Sorrell Engineering. The SR-100 prototype was the first of its many projects, on which Sorrell began focusing in 1950.
Initial sketches eschewed the traditional undulating front fender line and typical ‘door dip’ as seen in emerging 1950s designs. Although ‘full envelope’ designs had been developed in various sports cars, the dominant body architecture was still embracing the rearward sweeping front fender, bobbed rear, and upright windscreen. The most notable visions for this aesthetic were the 1948 Jaguar XK120, the 1952 Siata 208S and the 1953 AC Ace, to name a few. All were beautiful cars, and much of this design language persisted without significant innovation through the 1950s in both Europe and the US.
Clay modelling had been used in car design studios for several years yet it was difficult for young entrepreneurs to access the often costly tools, leaving draughtsmen struggling
