Most Airstreams were made as trailers – Tom Hanks recently sold his rather larger one with Bonhams at Quail Lodge for $235,200 – but this packs a Chevy V8.
Unsurprisingly, Airstream enjoys a rich and long history stretching back close to a century. First created by Wally Byam in 1929, little has changed since – they were space age then and are retro-futuristic now. And, like the best all-American classics such as the original, proper Jeep, they are ageless by design. Only the rather 1980s interior and that B plate betray this machine’s vintage.
Byam built his first trailer on a Model T, naturally, then improved it by using aluminium and interest soon swirled until a factory was required to keep up with demand. The Teardrop model set the tone for what was to follow and, fittingly, an Airstream even housed the Apollo 11 crew men in quarantine.
That was no average Airstream, mind, but a Mobile Quarantine Facility and which acted as a pressure vessel. Yet within was still beds, a perfect bathroom and an early version of a microwave in the fitted kitchen.
As with all old motoring manufacturers, its time has not been without worry and trouble. But Byram’s vision and concept has shown it can clearly weather everything.
After all, as Hanks told Bonhams: "You haven't lived well until you survive a movie-stopping thunderstorm in an Airstream while on location in Carolina."
