Aurel Persu’s Streamliner: The Untold Story of the World’s First Truly Aerodynamic Car

Aerodynamic Vision - In an age when automobiles were still boxy, noisy curiosities that clattered along dusty roads, one Romanian engineer imagined something utterly different — a car that would glide through the air as effortlessly as a raindrop falls from the sky. The year was 1923, and Aurel Persu’s vision would become the Persu Streamliner, a machine so far ahead of its time that even modern engineers still marvel at its foresight. At a glance, it looked unlike anything else on the road — sleek, narrow, and fluid, a body sculpted by the logic of the wind rather than the conventions of the day. 

The Streamliner, an Aurel Persu-built machine far ahead of its time, stood out with a sleek, narrow, and fluid form sculpted by the logic of the wind rather than the design conventions of its era. (Picture from: WorldCarsFromThe1930To1980s in Facebook)

Born in Bucharest, Romania, Aurel Persu’s fascination with mechanics took him to Berlin in 1909, where he studied mechanical engineering under the supervision of Professor Eugen Meyer. His brilliance shone early — he graduated with honors in 1913, delving deeply into theoretical mechanics long before aerodynamics became a fashionable term in automotive design. When World War I erupted, Persu served as a military officer and was awarded the Crown of Romania Order for his service. But his real battle, it turned out, was against air resistance. 

The 1923 Persu Streamliner is shown here after restoration, featuring its original enclosed-wheel design and sleek aerodynamic body that exemplify Aurel Persu’s groundbreaking engineering vision. (Picture from: SmartAge.pl)

After the war, Persu returned to Berlin, drawn to the growing fields of automotive and aviation technology. The 1921 Berlin Auto Show was a revelation: he saw Edmund Rumpler’s Tropfenwagen — the “teardrop car” — and instantly grasped the beauty of its aerodynamic logic. Yet Persu envisioned something even purer. He imagined a vehicle that didn’t just mimic nature’s forms, but became one. Water droplets and birds inspired his sketches. He noticed how a drop of water, when falling freely, assumes the most efficient shape possible to move through air — and he wanted his car to do the same.

Aurel Persu (1890 - 1977), celebrated as a national treasure in Romania, was honored in 2010 with his portrait and car featured on the country’s postage stamps. (Picture from: CeAutoClassic.eu)

In 1922, he filed a patent for what he called an “aerodynamically shaped automobile with the wheels mounted inside the body.” That single idea — enclosing the wheels — was revolutionary. It reduced turbulence and drag to levels that would not be seen again for decades. Later calculations estimated the drag coefficient of his prototype at a mere 0.22, a figure astonishingly close to that of modern electric vehicles. In 1924, the patent was granted, and by 1927, his car had earned the name that would define it: Streamliner. 

The image shows Aurel Persu’s technical drawing of the 1923 Streamliner, illustrating its raindrop-shaped aerodynamic body with fully enclosed wheels and a compact interior layout. (Picture from: Persu.ro)

The 1923 Persu Streamliner stretched about 4.6 meters long — comparable to today’s compact sedans. Its proportions were unusual: a broad front, tapering to an extremely narrow rear only seventy centimeters wide. This taper eliminated the need for a differential, making the car not only simpler but safer to drive through corners. Persu borrowed the engine and transmission from an AGA automobile — a modest four-cylinder producing 20 horsepower — but his streamlined body turned that modest power into remarkable efficiency. While typical cars of the time struggled to cruise beyond 60 km/h, Persu’s Streamliner could comfortably glide at 80.

The Persu Streamliner was designed by a Romanian engineer Aurel Persu and was the first car to have wheels inside its aerodynamic line and also had a drag coefficient of only 0.22. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

Its structure was both practical and visionary: a steel frame, rear-only mechanical brakes, and an interior layout that evolved into a four-seater in the U.S. patent version. Every detail served a purpose — reducing drag, improving safety, and proving that elegance could also be efficient.

The 1923 Persu Streamliner featured strikingly unconventional proportions, with a broad front that tapered dramatically to a rear just seventy centimeters wide. (Picture from: WeirdWheels in Reddit)

By 1925, Persu had secured patents across Europe and awaited recognition from America. He drove the Streamliner himself from Berlin to Bucharest — a journey that reportedly added thousands of kilometers to the car’s odometer, which would eventually reach 120,000. Back home, he continued his academic and engineering work, contributing to railway systems and oil-pump technology, while quietly nurturing the hope that his aerodynamic car would one day change the world.

The 1923 Persu Streamliner is depicted here in an artistic rendering that highlights its smooth, raindrop-shaped body and enclosed aerodynamic design. (Picture from: CeAutoClassic.eu)

That chance nearly came when both Ford and General Motors expressed interest in his patent in 1927. But Persu, wary of corporate motives, feared his creation would be purchased only to be buried, preventing competition or innovation. He refused to sell — an act that preserved his integrity but denied him the recognition he deserved.

The 1923 Persu Streamliner now rests at the Dimitrije Leonida Technical Museum in Bucharest, preserved exactly as Aurel Persu left it, shown here while awaiting its restoration. (Picture from: Wikipedia)

Outside his automotive experiments, Persu’s life took many turns. He organized car races, taught at the Polytechnic in Bucharest, and later joined the Industria Aeronautică Română aircraft factory. His theories contributed to advancements in aviation and even influenced early helicopter designs. Yet the shifting tides of history — war, occupation, and political change — pushed him to the margins. By the 1940s, the once-revered engineer found himself sidelined by Romania’s communist regime.

The 1923 Persu Streamliner is shown here as a wooden structural model displayed outside the Dimitrie Leonida National Technical Museum in Bucharest. (Picture from: TopGear Romania in Facebook)

And then, in one of those poetic turns life sometimes offers, Aurel Persu reinvented himself once more — this time as a musician. A passionate amateur cellist, he joined the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra at sixty and played professionally until he was seventy-eight. His hands, once stained with oil and graphite, now coaxed music from strings instead of engines. 

The 1923 Persu Streamliner measured roughly 4.6 meters in length, giving it proportions remarkably similar to today’s compact sedans and highlighting its ahead-of-its-time design sense. (Picture from: WorldCarsFromThe1930To1980s in Facebook)

When his health eventually failed, Persu donated his beloved Streamliner to the Dimitrie Leonida Technical Museum in Bucharest. There it remains — a silent relic of imagination and courage, its once-shining body now dulled by time but still whispering of speed, wind, and genius. | hkH9FrxOjCg | YPN_MOy78dQ |

In today’s world, where sleek, aerodynamic electric cars dominate the conversation, Persu’s creation feels almost prophetic. He proved a century ago that the path to progress often lies in looking at nature’s simplest truths. The 1923 Persu Streamliner wasn’t just a car — it was a vision, a challenge to convention, and a glimpse of what happens when art, science, and daring imagination share the same road. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | PERSU.RO | CEAUTOCLASSIC.EU | CARSTYLING.RU | WIKIPEDIA | HAGERTY | SMARTAGE.PL | BROADSHEET.IE | 3SEASEUROPE | ECOMODDER | SKETCHFAB | WEIRDWHEELS IN REDDIT | WORLD CARS FROM THE 1930S to 1980S IN FACEBOOK | TOPGEAR ROMANIA IN FACEBOOK ]

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