The 1925 Gerin Aerodyne is a unique car that fits in squarely with the Tampa Bay Auto Museum's collection of forwardthinking automobiles.

Today we talk to Steve White, the fabricator creating and finishing the body for this 100 year old unfinished prototype.

Designed by the young Jacques Gerin, the Aerodyne is a prototype midengined saloon car which marked a significant departure from other vehicles of its day. Long, low and narrow, its organic contours are determined by a space frame of superelliptical duralumin hoops and ribs mated up to a structural Alpax floor.

The front wheels and suspension are fully enclosed units. The headlights of the car followed the front wheels, always positioning themselves on the road ahead. The complete engine and associated assemblies are designed to be removed quickly and easily, which would have made for unfathomably simple maintenance, repairs and engine swaps.

Jacques Gerin was a big player in the aeronautical industry, holding numerous patents for aircraft designs. In fact, the Aerodyne's construction shares much in common with aircraft designs of the time; its armature framework would have been wrapped in either fabric or aviation paper materials. Its curvilinear design speaks to the aeronautical advancements made by Gerin.