1959 Scimitar Concept Town Car Phaeton

This 1959 Town Car Phaeton by Brooks Stevens is believed to be the only town car ever built with a rigid roof that can be retracted into the trunk. The car can be configured either as an enclosed sedan, a fully open four-door convertible sedan, or an open front town car. To transform the vehicle from a sedan into a town car, the driver actuates a switch on the dashboard and the roof retracts into a hollow area between the headliner and the metal skin in the rear roof section. Actuating the switch again will automatically open the rear-hinged deck and then raise the rear roof section and lower it into the trunk area.

All three Scimitar vehicles were crafted by Karosseriewerk Reuter of Stuttgart, Germany for Olin Aluminum for use in their marketing efforts. It was built on a 1959 Chrysler New Yorker chassis with the use of aluminum throughout.