Cyclops

Cyclops (pronounced sahy-klops)

(1) In Greek Mythology, a member of a family of giants having a single round eye in the middle of the forehead.  They forged thunderbolts for Zeus, built the walls of Mycenae and were encountered by Odysseus in The Odyssey.

(2) A freshwater copepod of the genus Cyclops, having a median eye in the front of the head (used with lower-case).

(3) A nickname (the literal translation of Antigonos ho Monophthalmos (382-301 BC) (Ἀντίγονος ὁ Μονόφθαλμος) being “Antigonus the one-eyed”) for Antigononso, a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great.

(4) A slang term for the brief (1940s-1950s) fashion for cars having a third, central headlamp.

1510s: From the Latin Cyclōps, from the Ancient Greek Kýklōps (round-eye), the construct being kýklo(s) (a circle, round) + ṓps (eye); the similar Latin construction was kuklos (circle; circular body) + ōps (eye).  The Greek and Latin forms for “round” were both from the primitive Indo-European root kwel (revolve, move around) while the words meaning “eye” were from the primitive Indo-European root okw (“to see”).  Among classics scholars, there is a faction which suggests the word is derived from an older source which originally meant “sheep thief.”  Both etymologies describe the Cyclopes suspiciously well and it’s not impossible the very name of the Cyclopes may have influenced and even distorted their original portrayal.

The adjectives cyclopean & cyclopic (of or characteristic of the legendary Cyclopes of Greek mythology) were from the 1640s and came to be applied in architecture and engineering to designs with a centrally located lamp or light although it was for a time in the nineteenth century used also to refer to vast or fabled gigantic structures of ancient masonry, irregular or unhewn, associated with the legends of the works created by the Thracian race of giants.  The plural form of cyclops has long caused disputes in English and modern style guides recommend using cyclops as both singular & plural.  Pendants of course ignore this and, depending on inclination make a point of using the unfortunate cyclopses but those who really want to display their learning will double down by using Cyclō’pes if writing of the creatures of the myths and cyclopes for all other purposes.

The so-called cyclopes cars were those (produced mostly in the late 1940s & early 1950s) with a centrally mounted headlamp, one of the many styling fads which flourished briefly.  Aesthetically, it didn’t work as well as the various arrangements with four headlamps and probably for that reason it’s never attracted designers looking for a retro-project.  On the 1948 Tucker 48 (Torpedo), the cyclopes light was connected to the steering a turned as the front wheels changed direction, an idea seen on the Cord L-29 as early as 1929 and which would be revived by Citroën in 1967 when the DS (1955-1975) was updated.

The Legend of the Cyclopes

The Cyclopes (the more familiar Cyclops is the singular) were gigantic, one-eyed beings with enormous strength. Originally, there were three of them: Arges (Thunderer), Steropes (Lightner), and Brontes (Vivid); blacksmiths the sons of Uranus and Gaea and the brothers of the Hecatoncheires and the Titans.  They were imprisoned by Cronus but released by his son Zeus, for whom they forged his famous thunderbolt as a sign of gratitude. However, later, poets would speak of a different type of Cyclopes, a race of dim-witted and violent one-eyed shepherds dwelling in the caves of the island of Sicily, the most famous of whom was Polyphemus, the Cyclops who fell in love with Galatea and was eventually blinded by Odysseus.

Rover 75 (P4) 1949-1953 (left) & 1950 JET 1 gas turbine test bed.  The P4 in various versions was produced 1949-1964 but only the original 75 and the gas turbine test car were fitted with the cyclops headlamp.

Hesiod: Cronus and the Cyclopes

Fragment of wall painting in the ruins of Pompeii depicting the Cyclop Polyphemus and the Nymph.

Incited by his mother Gaea, the youngest of the Titans, Cronus, castrated and overthrew his father Uranus, establishing himself as the supreme ruler of all gods.  Fearing the might of his brothers, he imprisoned both the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus, setting the dragoness Campe to guard them for all eternity.  Terrified of his children as well, Cronus tried devouring each of them as soon as they were born.  There were various tellings of the Hesiodic legend but what is common to all is that there were three Cyclopes of the race of Titans, sons of Uranus and Ge, who forged the thunderbolts of Zeus, Pluto's helmet, and Poseidon's trident, and were considered the primeval patrons of all smiths. Their workshops were afterward said to be under Mount Etna.

Zeus, the Cyclopes, and the Titanomachy

Polypheme (circa 1880) by Gustave Moreau (1826-1898).

In time however, the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires were released from Tartarus by the only one of Cronus’ children not to be eaten by him at birth: Zeus.  Zeus did this at the advice of Gaea, who had informed him that he wouldn’t be able to depose Cronus without their help.  True to Gaea’s words, the Cyclopes played a crucial part during the Titanomachy.  Not only did they side with Zeus in his war against the Titans, but they also forged Zeus’ mighty thunderbolt, along with a trident for Poseidon and a helmet of invisibility for Hades.  With the help of these weapons, Zeus and his party emerged triumphant from the Titanomachy, banishing the Titans to Tartarus once and for all.

The Works of the Cyclopes

Now that Zeus had become the ruler of the world, the Cyclopes could dedicate themselves fully to their talents.  They installed themselves in the forges of the divine artificer Hephaestus (under the volcanic Mount Etna in Sicily), and, under his direction, they went on forging Zeus’ thunderbolts in addition to fashioning pieces of some of the other gods’ equipment (Athena’s armor, Ares’ chariot).  The Cyclopes were also believed to have built numerous monumental works all around Greece and Italy. Among the famous buildings attributed to them were the immense walls of Tiryns and the Lion Gate at Mycenae.

Death of the Cyclopes

It seems all three of these original Cyclopes met an untimely death at the hands of the Olympians.  First Arges was killed by Hermes while guarding Io against the lust of Zeus; then Apollo killed both Steropes and Brontes in an act of vengeance for the death of his beloved son, Asclepius.  In truth, the Cyclopes had nothing to do with his death, other than forging the thunderbolt which Zeus hurled in the direction of Asclepius.  But, obviously enough, Apollo couldn’t exact his revenge on Zeus himself, so Steropes and Brontes had to suffer his wrath in Zeus’ stead.

1948 Tucker 48 (Torpedo) (left), 1938 Tatra 87 (1936-1950) (centre) & 1951 Maserati A6G2000 Spider by Frua (right).

Homer’s Cyclopes

Homer’s Cyclopes were a race of unintelligent, ferocious (and not infrequently cannibalistic shepherds living on the island of Sicily (that’s not undisputed but it’s what’s inferred from the Odyssey and the later works it inspired). The most famous among them was their chief, Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon and the nymph Thoosa, and he had a famous encounter with Odysseus.

Portrayal

Cyclope (1924) by Francis Picabia (1879–1953).

Even though they also had only one eye and were as gigantic as Hesiod’s Cyclopes, Homer’s Cyclopes were neither blacksmiths nor obedient. Usually portrayed as violent cannibals, they led an unruly life, possessing neither social manners nor fear for the gods.  The chief representative of Homer’s Cyclopes was the man-eating monster Polyphemus, described by Homer as having been blinded and outwitted by Odysseus. Later authors make him a would-be lover of the nymph Galatea.  Predictably, it was the Nymph who attracted so many painters from the late Medieval period until well into the nineteenth century.

Polyphemus and Galatea

Long before being blinded by Odysseus, Polyphemus had fallen in love with a beautiful nymph called Galatea.  However, as it may be supposed, his actions were neither graceful nor acceptable to the fair maiden, who rejected them in favour of a youth named Acis, the handsome son of Faunus and the river-nymph Symaethis. Polyphemus, enraged and with his usual barbarity, killed his rival by throwing upon him a gigantic rock.  The blood of the murdered Acis, gushing from the rock, formed a stream which bears his name to this very day.

Polyphemus and Odysseus

Upon landing on the island of the Cyclopes, Odysseus and his sailors found themselves entrapped in the cave of Polyphemus.  The Cyclops ate six of Odysseus’ men, and Odysseus had no option but to devise a quick escape plan.  So, one night, he intoxicated Polyphemus and pierced his eye with a wooden stake; the next morning, he told his men to hide under the bellies of Polyphemus’ sheep, and thus he managed to smuggle them out of the cave. It was because of this act that Poseidon, Polyphemus’ father, held a decade-long grudge against Odysseus, keeping him away from Ithaca and his beloved wife, Penelope.

1951 ZIL-112 Cyklon (experimental Russian car) (left), 1953 Ferrari 166MM/53 Spider by Abarth (centre) & 1958 Volkswagen Microbus (Type 2) with after-market central headlamp.

The texts

Odysseus in the Cave of Polyphemus (1635) by Jacob (Jacques) Jordaens (1593–1678).

Hesiod’s Cyclopes are first described in the Theogony where their role in the Titanomachy is also briefly related.  Homer’s Cyclopes and the encounter between Polyphemus and Odysseus is told in full in the ninth book of the Odyssey. In the Aeneid, Virgil describes beautifully the Cyclopes’ workshop, and Euripides has written a whole comedy about the unruly Cyclopes (the only complete satyr play to have survived).

The Rolex Cyclops

Lindsay Lohan with Rolex Datejust; note the blue eyes.

Rolex regard their Cyclops date window magnifier as among the most iconic and quintessential of their design language characteristics although it began as just another example of normal product development, an innovation which enhanced the functionality of an earlier innovation, the realization the date aperture window could be hard to see and adding a 2.5 times magnifier to the crystal would make it much easier to read.  Introduced in 1945, the Rolex Datejust was the first wristwatch to feature a date aperture window complication and included also the Jubilee bracelet so named because it marked the company’s 40th year in business, the model also the Rolex to feature solid end-links although Datejust didn’t at first appear as a dial designation.  The feature was appreciated but the scale was, of necessity, small and for anyone with less than perfect eyesight, it could be a challenge to distinguish numerals; a 23 from a 28 for example.  The solution was simple but inspired, the “Cyclops” magnifier lens appearing on a new Datejust model, released at the 1948 Basel Fair, the name a borrowing from the one-eyed monster from Classical mythology.

Anatomy of the Rolex Cyclops magnifier lens.    

According to the official company history, it was the Rolex founder himself, Hans Wilsdorf (1881–1960), who developed the Cyclops because his second wife, Betty Wilsdorf-Mettler (1902-1989), found the small numerals “too hard to read”.  That may be true but Herr Wilsdorf was famously adept at marketing and may not have been adding his own myth to the one he’d borrowed from Antiquity.  If so, he certainly embellished the tale as imaginatively as the medieval scribes who invented their own stories about the ancient gods, the story being the solution presented itself one morning in his bathroom when a drop of water landed on his Rolex Datejust crystal directly over the date aperture window and he noticed it magnified the date.  Shouting “I got it, I got it!!!” to his wife, that day he had one of his craftsmen glue a tiny magnifying glass over the date wheel, and with that single prototype, the Rolex Cyclops Date window magnifier was created and almost as soon as patent application CH 298953 was granted, it was followed by a cautionary press release: “To all watchmakers: we draw your attention to the fact that the watch crystal with the specially shaped magnifying glass lens is a Rolex exclusivity protected in Switzerland and abroad. We will not hesitate to instigate legal proceedings against any counterfeiting.”  Proving that celebrity product placement is nothing new, Rolex had in 1948 presented Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969; US president 1953-1961 and then US Army Chief of Staff) with the 150^th officially certified Swiss Chronometer and when it was returned to the then president in 1953 after being serviced, it had been fitted with both an updated dial and a Cyclops magnifier window.

Patent 298953, 2 August 1954.

Structurally, there have been changes as improvements in materials have made new engineering possible.  Vintage Rolex crystals were fashioned from an acrylic with the Cyclops lens molded into the form, rendering it thus unmovable but when the company switched to a synthetic sapphire crystal, the Cylops lens could be manufactured separately and then attached with a “space-age” glue, the last notable refinement being the addition of an anti-reflective coating on the bottom surface, making it visible under a wider range of lighting.  The Cyclops is now fitted almost universally to Rolex professional watches with a date aperture window, the only exception being the Deep Sea See-Dweller.

Catfish

Catfish (pronounced kat-fish)

(1) Any of the numerous mainly freshwater teleost fishes of the order or suborder Nematognathi (or Siluroidei), characterized by barbels around the mouth and the absence of scales, especially the silurids of Europe and Asia and the horned pouts of North America.

(2) A wolffish of the genus Anarhichas.

(3) In casual use, any of various other fishes having a fancied resemblance to a catfish.

(4) In slang, a person who assumes a false identity or personality on the internet, especially on social media, usually with an intent to deceive, manipulate, or swindle.

(5) To deceive, swindle, etc., by assuming a false identity or personality online.

(6) In casual use, any piece of machinery having a fancied resemblance to a catfish (and applied mostly to cars). 

1605–1615: The construct was cat + fish.  Dating from circa 700, cat was from the Middle English cat or catte and the Old English catt (masculine) & catte (feminine).  It was cognate with the Old Frisian and Middle Dutch katte, the Old High German kazza, Old Norse köttr, Irish cat, Welsh cath (thought derived from the Slavic kotŭ), the Russian kot and the Lithuanian katė̃; the Old French chat enduring.  The curious Late Latin cattus or catta was first noted in the fourth century, presumably associated with the arrival of domestic cats but of uncertain origin.  The Old English catt appears derived from the earlier (circa 400-440) West Germanic form which came from the Proto-Germanic kattuz which evolved into the Germanic forms, the Old Frisian katte, the Old Norse köttr, the Dutch kat, the Old High German kazza and the German Katze, the ultimate source being the Late Latin cattus.

The noun fish was from the pre-900 Middle English fish, fisch & fyssh, from the Old English fisc (fish), from the Proto-West Germanic fisk, from the Proto-Germanic fiskaz (fish).  It was cognate with the West Frisian fisk, the Dutch vis, the Old Norse fiskr, the Danish fisk, the Norwegian fisk, the Gothic fisks, the Swedish fisk and the German Fisch, the ultimate source probably the primitive Indo-European peysḱ (fish) & pisk (a fish) although there are etymologist who speculate, on phonetic grounds, that it may be a north-western Europe substratum word.  It was akin to the Latin piscis, the Irish verb iasc, the Middle English fishen and the Old English fiscian, cognate with the Dutch visschen, the German fischen, the Old Norse fiska and the Gothic fiskôn.  The verb fish was from the Old English fiscian (to fish, to catch or try to catch fish).  It was cognate with the Old Norse fiska, the Old High German fiscon, the German fischen and the Gothic fiskon.  The plural is fishes, but in a collective sense, or in reference to fish meat as food, the singular fish generally serves for a plural, thus the noun plural of catfish tends to be catfish but zoologists and other specialists, especially when referring to two or more kinds or species, will tend to prefer catfishes.

The catfish seems to have gained its name early in the seventeenth century following the practice adopted for the Atlantic wolf-fish, noted for its ferocity, the catfish picking up its moniker apparently because of the "whiskers" although the "purring" sound it sometimes makes upon being taken from the water has (less convincingly) been suggested as the origin; most zoologists and etymologists prefer the whiskers story while noting the correct name for the appendages is barbels.

The modern term catfishing describes a type on nefarious on-line activity in which a person uses information and images, typically taken from others, to construct a new identity for themselves.  In the most extreme examples, a catfisher can steal and assume another individual’s entire identity, enabling the possibility of using the fake persona to engage in fraud or other illegal activities.  Catfishing attacks may be targeted or opportunistic and have long been common on dating sites.  One niche activity is where only a few (or legally insignificant) elements  are involved (usually in an attempt to tempt younger subjects on dating sites) and there is no attempt to engage in illegal activity; this has been called kitten fishing.

There is nothing new in the concept of catfishing, cases documented in the literature for centuries, the ubiquity of the internet just making such scams both easier to execute and easier to detect.  The term in this context is derived from the 2010 American documentary Catfish, which concerned a 26 year old man who, thinking he was building an on-line relationship with a 19 year old woman, discovered his digital interlocutor was actually a married women of 40.  The documentary (and thus the on-line behavior) gained the name from a mention the woman's husband made when comparing his wife’s conduct to the myth that it was once the practice to include one or more catfish in the tank when shipping live cod, the rationale said to be the cod would remain active in the presence of codfish whereas if shipped alone, would become pale and lethargic, reducing the quality of the flesh.  The source of the myth was the 1913 psychological novel Catfish by Charles Marriott (1869-1957), the fanciful story repeated that same year by Henry Wooded Nevinson (1856-1941) in his political treatise, Essays in Rebellion.

Etymologically unrelated (although not wholly dissimilar in practice) was the earlier internet slang phishing which described a kind of social engineering in which an attacker sends a deceptive message designed to trick a person into revealing sensitive information or induce them in some way to install malicious software such as key-stroke grabbers or ransomware.  Phishing is a leetspeak variant of fishing which compares the digital activity to actual angling, the idea being the casting of lines with lures in the hope there will be bites at the bait.  The first known reference to phishing dates from 1995 but there was apparently an earlier mention in the magazine 2600: The Hacker Quarterly, the word coined following the earlier phreaking.  Phishing has for years been the most common attack performed by cybercriminals.

Catfish and some cars they inspired.

First seen on a few eccentric examples during the 1930s, the distinctive, if not always pleasing “catfish look” emerged on volume production automobiles during the 1950s.  Even then the look was a stylistic curiosity but it was an age of extravagance and among the macropteric creations of the era, the catfish cars represented just one of many directions the industry could have followed.  Nor was the catfish look wholly without engineering merit, the low bonnet (hood) line improving aerodynamic efficiency, the wide, gaping aperture of the grill permitting adequate air-flow for engine cooling with headlamps able still to satisfy regulatory height requirements.  Classic examples of catfish styling includes the original Citroen DS, the Packard Hawk and the Daimler SP250.

Daimler SP250 (1959-1964)

The Daimler SP250 was first shown to the public at the 1959 New York Motor Show and there the problems began.  Aware the little sports car was quite a departure from the luxurious but rather staid lineup Daimler had for years offered, the company had chosen the pleasingly alliterative “Dart” as its name, hoping it would convey the sense of something agile and fast.  Unfortunately, Chrysler’s lawyers were faster still, objecting that they had already registered Dart as the name for a full-sized Dodge so Daimler needed a new name and quickly; the big Dodge would never be confused with the little Daimler but the lawyers insisted.

Using one of his trademark outdoor settings, Norman Parkinson (1913-1990) photographed model Suzanne Kinnear (b 1935) adorning a Daimler SP250, wearing a Kashmoor coat and Otto Lucas beret with jewels by Cartier.  The image was published on the cover of Vogue's UK edition in November 1959.

Imagination apparently exhausted, Daimler’s management reverted to the engineering project name and thus the car became the SP250 which was innocuous enough even for Chrysler's attorneys and it could have been worse.  Dodge had submitted their Dart proposal to Chrysler for approval and while the car found favor, the name did not and the marketing department was told to conduct research and come up with something the public would like.  From this the marketing types gleaned that “Dodge Zipp” would be popular and to be fair, dart and zip(p) do imply much the same thing but ultimately the original was preferred and Darts remained in Dodge’s lineup until 1976, for most of that time one of the corporation's best-selling and most profitable lines.  The name was revived between 2012-2016 for an unsuccessful and unlamented compact sedan.

1961 Daimler SP250.

Daimler’s SP250 didn’t enjoy the same longevity, the last of the 2654 produced in 1964, sales never having approached the projected 3000 per year, most of which were expected to be absorbed by the US market.  The catfish styling probably didn’t help, a hint being the informal poll taken at the 1959 show when the thing was voted “the ugliest car of the show” but under the skin of the ugly duckling was a virile swan.  The heart of the SP250 was a jewel-like 2.5 litre (155 cubic inch) hemi-headed V8 which combined the structure of Cadillac’s V8 with advanced cylinder heads which owed much to those of the Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle engine.  Indeed, the designer, Edward Turner (1901–1973), owned a Cadillac and was responsible for the Triumph heads so the influences weren’t surprising and the little engine had an interesting gestation.  It was Turner’s first car engine and so tied was he to the principles which had proved so successful for his motorcycles that the original concept was air-cooled and fed by eight carburetors.  Automotive reality however prevailed and what emerged was a compact, light (190 KG (419 lb)), water-cooled V8 with the inevitable twin SU carburetors, the project yielding also an only slightly bulkier (226 KG (498 lb)) 4.6 litre (278 cubic inch) version which would be tragically under-utilized by a British motor industry which could greatly have benefited from a wider deployment of both instead of some engines which proved pure folly.  The Daimler V8s are notable too for their intoxicating exhaust notes, perhaps not a critical aspect of engineering but one which adds much to the pleasure of ownership.

Daimler SP250, winner of the 1962 Bathurst 6 Hour Classic (Leo Geoghegan & Ian Geoghegan).

Under-capitalized and lacking the funds needed to revitalize their dated range, let alone develop new high-volume models, the SP250 was created on a shoestring budget, the body built in the then still novel fibreglass, not by deliberate choice but because the tooling and related production facilities could be fabricated for a fraction of the cost had steel or aluminum been used.  It also lessened the development time and promised a simpler and cheaper upgrade path in the future but also brought problems of its own.  New to the material, Daimler’s engineers were confronted with many of the same problems which Chevrolet encountered during the early days of the Corvette, issues which even with the vast resources of General Motors, proved troublesome.  Other than the fibreglass body, the SP250 was technologically conventional, using a chassis little different from that of the Triumph TR3, built in a 14 gauge box section with central cruciform bracing.  The chassis was designed to be light and that was certainly achieved but at the cost of structural rigidity, again an issue of the use of fibreglass, the engineers (in pre-CAD times) under-estimating the stiffness which would be demanded in a structure without metal panels further to distribute the loadings. 

1962 Daimler SP250 prepared for competition in British Racing Green (BRG) with factory hardtop and Minilite wheels.

The lack of sufficient torsional rigidity meant the SP250s were beset with the same teething problem as the first Corvettes: the fibreglass panels could become crazed or even crack and, most disconcertingly, doors were prone to springing open during brisk cornering and the bonnet (hood) sometimes popped open as the body flexed at high speed.  The SP250 was a genuinely fast car so these were not minor issues.  Still, there was much to commend the SP250.  Wind-up windows and the availability of an automatic transmission sound hardly ground-breaking but they were an innovation unknown on the MG, Triumph and Austin-Healy roadsters of the time and the V8 was unique.  The suspension was conventional but competent, an independent front end with upper and lower arms, coil springs, and telescopic shock absorbers while the rear used semi-elliptic leaf springs with lever arm shock absorbers.  The unassisted cam and peg system steering lacked the precision the Italians achieved even without using a rack and pinion system but, aided by a larger than usual steering wheel, it offered a reasonable compromise for the time although at low speed it was far from effortless.  More commendable were the brakes.  The four-wheel discs had no power assistance but the SP250 was a light car and the servo systems of the time, lacking feel and impeding the progressiveness inherent in the design of the early discs, meant unassisted systems were preferable for sports cars although, efficient and fade-free though they were, an emergency stop from speed did demand high pedal effort.  One curiosity in the configuration was the bumper bars.  Considering the issue bumpers would become in the 1970s, that they were once optional is an indication of how different the regulatory environment was at the time. The A spec SP250s had no bumpers as standard equipment but were fitted at the front with what are sometimes mistakenly called nerf-bars but are actually “bumperettes” although the English seem to like “whiskers”. At the rear were over-riders attached to nerf-bars. The B spec models didn’t include these but, like the A spec, the full bumpers were an optional extra and this setup was continued for the C spec. The SP250s used by the British Metropolitan Police as high speed pursuit cars always had the optional bumpers because of the need to mount the warning bell and auxiliary spotlight.

1960 Daimler SP250 (automatic) in UK police pursuit specification.

So, developed to the extent possible with the resources available, production began in 1959, shortly before the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) announced the sale of Daimler to Jaguar.  Jaguar, attracted by Daimler’s extensive manufacturing facilities and its skilled workforce regarded most of the Daimler range as antiquated but allowed some production to continue although their engineers decided the chassis of the SP250 needed significant modifications to improve rigidity.  The strengthening was undertaken and the revised cars became known as the “B” models, the original 1959-1960 versions retrospectively labeled as A-Spec.  The changes were actually not extensive, a steel box section hoop added to connect the windscreen pillars, two steel outrigger sill beams along each side of the chassis, complimented with a couple of strategically placed braces.  The stiffer structure solved the problems and improved the driving experience, the B-spec cars produced between 1960-1963.  A subsequent upgrade, dubbed C-spec included some features such as a cigar lighter and a heater/demister and in this form, the cars remained in production until 1964.

Daimler SP252 prototype (1964)

Unfortunately, Jaguar was never enthusiastic about Daimler except as a badge which could be used on up-market Jaguars sold at a nice profit.  However, whatever the opinions of the catfish styling, the SP250 had proved itself in motorsport and, capable of a then impressive 122 mph (196 km/h), had been used as a high-speed pursuit vehicle by a number of police forces, interestingly usually with an automatic transmission, the choice made in the interest of reduced maintenance, a conclusion rental car companies would soon reach.  For that reason, the potential was clear and Jaguar explored a way to extend the appeal with a restyled body.  The result was the SP252, rendered still in fibreglass but now more elegantly done, hints of both the MGB and Jaguar E-Type (XK-E) while the rear owed some debt to Aston Martin’s DB4.  Aesthetically accomplished though it was, economic reality prevailed.  The factory was tooled-up to produce no more than 140 of the V8 engines each week, demand for which was already exceeding supply since it had been offered in the Jaguar Mk2-based Daimler 2.5 (later 250) saloon and Jaguar lacked the production capacity even to make enough E-types to meet demand.  Given that and the engineering resources it required to devote to the new V12 engine and the XJ6 saloon for which it was intended, another relatively low-volume project couldn’t be justified.

Produced between 1955-1975, the Citroën DS, although long regarded as something quintessentially French was actually designed by an Italian.  It was offered as the DS and the lower priced, mechanically simpler ID, the names apparently an deliberate play on words, DS in French pronounced déesse (goddess) and ID idée (idea).  The goddess nickname caught on though idea never did; a curiously configured version built exclusively for the UK market was called the DW which appears to have meant nothing in particular.  The frontal aspect, combined with the efficiency of the rest of the body, delivered outstandingly good aerodynamics but the catfish look was tempered a little because the low, gaping grill associated with the motif wasn’t adopted, reputedly because the ancient engine, a long-stroke and agricultural relic of the 1930s, produced so little power there wasn’t enough surplus energy to induce overheating, the need for a cooling flow of air correspondingly low.  That’s wholly apocryphal but later progress in design anyway softened the catfish effect.  It was most obvious on the series 1 cars (top) which were made between 1955-1962.  The Series 2 changes (1964-1967; centre) were effected further to improve aerodynamics and permitted also some increase to the airflow ducted for interior ventilation; the changes in appearance were said to be incidental to the process.  The catfish look vanished entirely when the series 3 cars (bottom) were introduced in 1967.

Now with four headlamps mounted behind glass canopies, the shape of which was integrated into the front fenders (top left), the arrangement was noted for the novelty of the inner set of lens being controlled by the steering (top right), the light thus being projected “around the corner” in the direction of travel, swiveling by up to 80°.  It was a simple, purely mechanical connection and the idea had during the 1930s used with auxiliary driving or fog-lights and the central (Cyclops) unit on the abortive Tucker Torpedo (1948) had been configured the same way but the DS was the first car to use adaptive headlights in volume.  Both the covers and the turning mechanism fell afoul of US regulations (lower left) so there the lens were fixed and exposed.  Another variation was in Scandinavian markets were miniature wipers were fitted.

1958 Packard Hawk

Fittingly perhaps, the gaping-mouth of the catfish style was applied to what proved one of the last gasps for Packard, a storied marque with roots in the nineteenth century which in the inter-war years had been one of the most prestigious in the US and it had been the sound of the V12 Packards which inspired Enzo Ferrari (1989-1988) to produce his own.  After spending World War II engaged in military production, notably a version of the Merlin V12 aero-engine built under license from Rolls-Royce, Packard emerged in 1945 in sound financial state but found the new world challenging, eventually in 1953 merging with fellow struggling independent, Studebaker.  Beset with internal conflicts from the start, things went from bad to worse and after dismal sales in 1958-1959 of the final Packards (which were really modified Studebakers and derided by many as "Packardbakers"), the Packard brand was retired with the coming of 1959.  The Studebaker-Packard Corporation in 1962 reverted to again become Studebaker but it was to no avail, the last Studebaker being produced in 1967.   

1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk.  Whatever the criticism of the catfish-like Packard, the car on which it was based was perhaps even more ungainly.

The origins of Packard’s swansong, the Hawk, lay in a 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk 400 which was customized in-house for executive use.  The front end and bonnet (hood) were rendered in fiberglass, eliminating the familiar upright grille and small side inlets which were replaced with the low, wide air intake so characteristic of the catfish look.  Covering all bases, for those unconvinced by the catfish look, a pair of modest dagmars were added.  Because the engine was supercharged, like the Studebaker, the hood included a bulge but because of the lower lines, it rose higher on the Packard.  Lacking the funds to create anything better, the Hawk was approved for production as a standard 1958 model but it was from the start doomed.  It was expensive and its debut coincided with the recession of that year when all auto-makers suffered downturns but, with the rumors swirling of Studebaker-Packard's impending demise, Packard suffered more than most and only 588 Hawks were built.

1958 Packard 

Packard’s rather plaintive swansong was another set of cobbled-together Packardbakers, available as a two-door hardtop and a four-door sedan or wagon.  In 1958, fins were a thing at the rear but what really exited the stylists was that quad headlamps were now permitted in all 48 states.  Unlike the majors however, the corporation had no funds to re-tool body dies to accommodate the change so hurriedly, fibreglass pods were created which when fitted, looked as tacked-on as they really were.  Also tacked on were the new fins which sat atop the old although these were at least genuine steel rather than fibreglass.

1958 Chrysler Royal (AP2) and 1960 Chrysler Royal (AP3) (Australian)

They were also definitely always standard equipment on all the Packards, unlike the 1958 Australian Chrysler Royal (AP2) which featured similar appendages grafted to pre-existing fins, Chrysler listing them as an optional extra called "saddle fins".  However, no Royal apparently was sold without saddle fins attached so either (1) they were very popular option or (2) Chrysler changed their mind after the promotional material was printed and decided to invent mandatory options, a marketing trick Detroit would soon widely (and profitably) adopt.  In 1960, the Australians also solved the problem of needing to add quad headlamps without either a re-tool or plastic pods, changing instead the grill and mounting the lights in a vertical stack, an expedient Mercedes-Benz had recently used to ensure their new W111 (Heckflosse) sedans satisfied US legislation.