1956 Mercury XM Turnpike Cruiser

Concept cars bring the future to the present, allowing motorists to give their feedback before significant investment is made by the manufacturer. Concept cars are expensive, but not nearly as expensive as putting it into production and having it fail. One such example was the Mercury XM Turnpike Cruiser from the mid-1950s, a radical concept that boldly explored futuristic designs and features. Ford Motor Company described the show car as 'an experimental car that anticipates future motoring needs.'

Going beyond just a styling exercise, the XM Turnpike Cruiser was envisioned as a new means of transportation for American motorists, traveling the new turnpikes in comfort, safety, and style.

'XM' in the XM Turnpike Cruiser's name stands for eXperimental Mercury. It was designed by Mercury and built in Italy by Ghia at the cost of $80,000 (a rather pricey sum for an automotive project at the time). Upon completion, it was put on the auto show circuit with stops in Chicago, Cleveland, Omaha, Milwaukee, Detroit, Kansas City, and New York. In 1957, it was the pace car at the Daytona Beach Grand National Race. Having served its purpose, the car was retired from the show circuit and eventually fell into disrepair. A future owner treated the car to a painstaking, circa-6,000-hour extensive restoration, returning it to its original glory. Work began in 2017 and was finished in 2022. The restore also restored the Ford Thunderbird Italien and the 1954 Mercury XM-800 along with many other production cars.

The Design
One of the principal stylists putting the idea to paper was Ford Motor Company designer John Najjar. During his four-decade career at Ford, his work centered on futuristic show cars, with design contributions on the 1957-58 Lincoln Continentals, the Mercury XM-800, the LevaCar concept, and even co-designed the first prototype of the Ford Mustang (known as the Ford Mustang I). He worked with Lee Iacocca, George Walker, Elwood Engel, Gene Bordinat, and E. T. Gregorie. The Lincoln Futura concept that he co-designs with stylist Bill Schmidt served as a base for the Batmobile for the 1966 TV series Batman.

The XM Turnpike Cruiser was originally conceived by Najjar in 1954 and was initially called the Mandalay. The design was appealing to Ford executive Jack Reith, who used his position and influence to further its development. Additional styling assistance was provided by Larry Shinoda, Gene Bordinat, Don DeLaRossa, and Elwood Engel.

Designers from the 1950s frequently turned to the stars for inspiration, incorporating elements from space travel into their products. Cars were given towering tail fins, rocket-inspired cockpits, 'jet pods,' curved edges, and sleek silhouettes. The XM Turnpike Cruiser was given its share of radical styling, perhaps the most significant being its unique gullwing doors (a.k.a. butterfly panels) on the driver and passenger doors. Beginning with a pair of conventional, front-hinged doors, there were tinted plastic roof panels that flipped up automatically when the doors were opened. Beyond its visual appeal, the design was to aid in ingress and egress, and enhance the car's spaciousness.

The sculpted front grille houses a pair of jet pods on each side, set within a chrome-plated nacelle. Beveled hoods protruded beyond the recessed headlamps, and oblong intake ports covered with chrome grilles accented the horizontal width. Turn signals are mounted behind the grille and under the headlights.

The outside door handles were hidden, adding to the car's smooth and unblemished appearance.

The V-shaped canted taillights and side 12-inch concave channel design were developed by Larry Shinoda. (The production Mercurys of 1957 would use the canted taillamp design.) The channels were outlined in chrome and painted pearlescent white to contrast with the persimmon body color. The channels ended in a giant 'Vs' which housed the extra large tail lights. At the rear was a narrow, chrome-plated impact bar near the bottom of the car that blended with horizontally-ribbed chrome covering the entire rear area, up to the extended deck lid.

The rear window could be operated electrically, and this feature would later appear on Mercury production cars. There were dual exhausts on either side, which exited through rear fender outlets.

After the ignition was turned off, the headlamps would automatically turn off after 30 seconds.

The generous glass area gave virtually unobstructed vision in every direction.

Interior
The interior houses four individual bucket seats with seatbelts and wrapped in two-tone leather upholstery. There are front and rear center consoles, and the dashboard has four torpedo-shaped nacelles ('twin floating consoled'), which consist of the speedometer, tachometer, and engine instrumentation (such as fuel gauge and temperature). There is a centrally-mounted pod clock, an AM radio, and power windows.

Mechanical Specification
The Mercury XM Turnpike Showcar was powered by a 312 cubic-inch Y-block Mercury V8 engine fitted with four-barrel carburetors and paired with a Merc-O-Matic transmission. It was built atop a 1954 Mercury convertible chassis that received additional reinforcement and was extended by two feet behind the rear axle.

The XM Turnpike Cruiser stood 4.4 feet high, had a length of 18.4 feet, and was 77.1 inches wide.

There are power brakes and power steering.

Mercury XM Turnpike Cruiser Transporter
To transport the XM Turnpike Cruiser to its many apperance, Mercury created a custom semi rig pulling a see-through trailer (called the 'Van-O-Rama'). The trailer had large windows on either side, giving views of its cargo wherever it traveled. The verbiage on the trailer declared 'Mercury Casecase of Advanced Design.'

One of the sides of the trailer could 'bump out' and allow the car to rotate 90 degrees. This turntable was used to display the XM-Turnpike Cruiser in large and small cities from New York to Los Angeles and from Minneapolis to New Orleans.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2024