The Kaiser-Darrin 161

America’s Sport Custom Production Car

I had no idea who Howard “Dutch” Darrin was, as I pedaled my Schwinn Sting Ray past his house and peered down the driveway into his garage. From the sidewalk, I could see clay scale models and drawings on the walls. I loved drawing and making model cars, but I was just a kid. I didn’t even know car design was a profession at that point in time. One afternoon Darrin invited me into his studio. Little did I know, it would lead to a life-long obsession with cars and a bountiful career in design.

Dutch Darrin is one of only a few American designers who successfully designed cars during both the pre- and post-war eras. Darrin holds the distinction of being the only post-war 20th century car designer to have a major manufacturer’s production car specifically named after him.  The Kaiser Darrin 161 was conceived and developed by Dutch Darrin to compete with the European sports car trend gaining interest in the U.S. Kaiser Motors opted to build the Darrin using a (then) new material known as fiberglass. Lighter weight and lower production costs compared to metal body tooling, fiberglass offered critical advantages to the struggling Kaiser Motors Corporation. Indeed Kaiser was one of many independent car manufacturers desperate to remain solvent during this challenging period.