1959 Concept Cars
Cadillac Cyclone XP-74 Concept
The Cyclone looked more like a jet aircraft than a car, its two fenders resembling rockets. The two flat door Segments could be slid back. The revolutionary design was matched by the radar-sensing crash avoidance system and the Plexiglas bubble-top that......
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Racer
consisted of chief designer Bob Veryzer and his team of Peter Brock, Gene Garfinkle, Chuck Pohimann and Norm Neumann.Two full-size models were created a coupe based on a theme by Brock and a roadster variant done by Pohlmann. Final design for......
Fiat Model 18S
The Maserati brothers founded OSCA in 1947 and this car was designed by Giovanni Michelotti. It was his first build after he opened his own studio in 1959. The car is Fiat-based including the floorpan, firewall, and drivetrain. The 1600cc 4-cylinder......
GMC Firebird III
The two-passenger Firebird III features a double bubble cockpit, multiple winglets, and a toned-down power plant guided by an aircraft-inspired control system. Dual power sources – a primary 225-horsepower Whirlfire GT-305 gas turbine engine and a two-cylinder......
Scimitar Concept
The Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, a mining and chemical company, entered the aluminum business in the mid-1950s. Thomas S. Nicholson was the chairman of Olin and a friend of industrial designer Brooks Stevens. The aluminum had many practical applications......
1958 Concept Cars
Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Concept
1958 marked the last year before Harley Earl went over the top with Cadillac tail fins. More elegant and subdued, the 1958 tail fins created a sense of motion and careful aim. At 221.8 inches from nose to tail – an astonishing 18 feet, 5 inches – the......
Chevrolet Corvette XP-700
The extremely exotic-looking Corvette XP-700 was designed and constructed under the very personal attention of Bill Mitchell in 1958 for use as his personal vehicle before it was redesigned and put on public display the following year. William (Bill)......
Chrysler Imperial D Elegance
The Imperial was designed by Virgil Exner and hailed by Chrysler as The Finest Car America Has Yet Produced. A very bold statement considering some of the masterpieces produced by Packard, Cadillac, and countless others. This was Chryslers first vehicle......
Dual Ghia Super Dart 400 Prototype
Eugene A. Casaroll was an American-Italian businessman who set up Dual Motors during World War II to build generators and trucks for the military. He also ran Automobile shippers, Inc., Chryslers main car transporter. Smitten with the Firearrow IV concept......
Ford Nucleon Concept
The Ford Nucleon Concept was constructed in 1958 and there was only one ever constructed. This vehicle was intended to be powered by a small nuclear reactor which would be housed in the rear. A power capsule sat between twin booms in the rear. The......
Kollins Le Grande Roadster
The same day Mike Kollins became a father was the same day he began working on creating his own automobile. It was a project that would consume eight years from start to finish, and only one example would ever be built. Kollins was an engineering technician......
Lancia Aurelia Nardi Blue Ray 2
Blue Ray 2 was created in 1958 by Enrico Nardi. The car debuted at the Turin Motor Show that same year. It is built on a heavily modified Lancia Aurelia B24 4th Series chassis. The coachwork was designed by Michelotti and constructed of steel by Vignale.......
Plymouth Cabana Concept
The Plymouth Cabana Station Wagon was a concept car first shown in 1958. It had many futuristic design cues such as the unusually styled roof, the curvaceous front-end, half-covered rear wheels, and large tail fins. The rear third of the roof was formed......
