RARE REUNION: CHRYSLER CONCEPT CARS GATHER AT AMELIA, 2014
By: Chrysler
Nine rare and important Chrysler Concept Cars from the forties, fifties and sixties will be presented together for the first time at the 19th annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance on March 9, 2014.From the two-seat Chrysler Thunderbolt roadster and the dual-cowl Chrysler Newport of 1941 through the radical 1963 Chrysler Turbine car, Amelia's Chrysler Concept Car Class shows the genesis of the styling and engineering philosophy that summoned Chrysler's industry-changing 'Forward Look' in 1957.
The Thunderbolt and Newport are first generation Chrysler Concept Cars. Both have their conceptual and aerodynamic roots in the Bonneville streamliner land speed record duels of the 1930s. Both will be on Amelia's Concours field on Sunday, March 9, 2014. The Driehaus Collection (Chicago, IL) will display its Thunderbolt. The National Automotive Museum of Reno, NV has entered their Newport, one of just five built.
'These are important cars,' said Bill Warner, Founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours. 'They are not just typical cosmetic packages of pastel colors and big tail fins. They showed the way to Chrysler Vice President Virgil Exner's 'Forward Look' design revolution that shook the American car industry to its core in 1957.'
Chrysler's Hemi-generation Concept Cars at Amelia include Michael Schudroff's 1952 Paris Auto Show Chrysler Ghia and Sam and Emily Mann's 1952 New Yorker-based Chrysler d'Elegance. The freshly restored 1954 La Comtesse from Chrysler's corporate collection of historic autos has not been seen in public in over five decades.
The 1955 Chrysler Falcon from the Bortz Auto Collection of Highland Park, IL was Virgil Exner's favorite Concept Car. Packing a 375 horsepower Hemi V-8, the two-seat Falcon's aggressive styling still echoes in the style of the contemporary Chrysler 300C.
Linda and Paul Gould's 1956 Diablo/Dart is another Ghia-bodied, Exner-designed one-off that is true to the pre-war Chrysler Concept Cars' mantra of aerodynamic efficiency. With a low drag coefficient of just 0.17, Gold's Dart is more aerodynamic than most pure racing cars.
Fred and Dan Kanter's massive 1958 Hemi-powered Dual Ghia is unrestored and will appear at the 19th annual Amelia in original condition, save the replacement of its vinyl top.
Photo credit: Chryslerposted on conceptcarz.com
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