Dream Cars pt. 2

Here's the second part of my review of the wonderful exhibit, Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas. If you missed part 1 check it out here. So let's jump right in!

 

 

This is the L'OEuf électrique, designed by Paul Arzens in 1942. This 3 wheeled, "electric egg" was created by Arzens for his personal use during World War II and was the world's first bubble car. It only has a single pedal and the steering wheel. It could travel up to 60 miles on one charge and up to 37 mph. In many ways it is the precursor to the Smart Car. A very moving aspect of the idea of this car is that it was created during the German occupation of France. It not only responded to the period's shortages and rationing of gas and other materials, but it also showed that even in times of distress there was still room for fun and creative ideas.

This is the General Motors Le Sabre XP-8 designed by Harley J. Earl in 1951. This car has many advanced features that are now common place such as the now distinctive GM tinted wrap around windshield, a rain sensor which could activate the disappearing power top, electric jacks in all four corners, and heated seats. It too, like many of the concept cars made in the 1950s, was influenced by aircraft.

This is the Cadillac Cyclone XP-74, another design by Harley J. Earl, in 1959. This car was introduced at the inaugural Daytona 500 NASCAR race. The car featured proximity-sensing radar units that would scan the road and warned the driver both audibly and visually of objects in its path. It also had a panoramic bubble top that retracted fully when the doors opened or closed, and an intercom system which allowed passengers to speak to those outside the car without having to open the full canopy.

This is the Pininfarina (Ferrari) Modulo, designed by the Italian design firm, Carrozzeria Pininfarina in 1970. Around this time, automobile designers and makers were engaged in an ongoing battle to make the ultimate wedge car. This was Ferrari's contribution. To get into the passenger side, the entire cupola, including the windshield, slides along special guides. This car stands at only 37 inches high! And that wasn't even the shortest one!

This is the Lancia (Bertone) Stratos HF Zero, designed by Marcello Gandini in 1970. It stands at only 33 inches high! There are no doors so the only way to enter is through the windshield opening. You're basically laying down inside the car. Inside, occupants could only see directly in front and above. The Zero definitely won the battle of the wedges in my opinion lol.

 

This is the BMW GINA Light Visionary Model designed in 2001 by Christopher Bangle. This car is an example of a contemporary concept car. The innovative feature of this car is that its shape could change through the use of flexible tensile fabric stretched over a movable body frame of aluminum and flexible carbon fiber. Basically, the car's exterior is made of fabric. Yep, you read that right, FABRIC! While we couldn't touch the car, there was a piece of fabric on the wall that we could feel. It felt really nice lol. Also, the interior automatically responded to each individual driver. The seats, steering wheel, head rest and console would all shift into place based on the driver. And each unique driver setting would be stored into memory. How cool is that?!?

This is the General Motors Firebird XP-21 designed by Harley J. Earl in 1953. This was the last car of the exhibit and it definitely closed the show out with a bang. The Firebird was the first gas turbine-powdered car built and tested in the United States. This single-seater car was described as a, "jet fighter on four wheels". The first thing it reminded me of was the cartoon Speed Racer lol. The Firebird was first presented at the 1954 Motorama, which was an auto show staged by GM. It was a highly impractical car, but boy does it look fun!

I didn't show all the cars on display at the exhibit but these were just some of my favorites/most interesting. Like I said in the last post, I'm not that knowledgeable about cars or car history, but this exhibit has definitely peeked my interest. Many of these cars also attest to why I love vintage so much, because even 50+ years later, they're still so appealing. Oh man, if I could get my hands on a Buick Centurion or the Le Sabre, I would be one happy girl!

Which was your favorite car out of the ones listed? 

MKD        

Dream Cars pt. 1

As I've mentioned before, I work at a wonderful museum in Atlanta. It's one of the leading art museums in the Southeast. Our newest exhibit, which just opened on May 21st, is the much anticipated car exhibit, Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas. The exhibit displays 17 concept cars produced between 1932 and today. Concept cars or "dream cars" as they were coined in the 1950s, were not cars that the public could usually purchase, but were testing grounds for automotive designers to display new innovations and design ideas.

As someone that's not your typical "car person", I was absolutely blown away by both the beauty and the innovative features of these cars for their time period. A lot of the features of some of these cars are ones that are common place today, but at the time were considered wildly futuristic. Many of these cars are European designs and it is the first time they're ever been displayed in the United States. Also many of the cars were only 1 of a few made or the only one ever made! Knowing these things made me appreciate the exhibit even more than I already did.

So now I want to share with you some of my favorite cars in the exhibit. I'll split this into 2 posts as I pretty much loved all of them haha. Enjoy!

This is the Norman Timbs Special designed in 1947. It's the first car you see in the exhibit and rightly so. It is gorgeous! Could you imagine seeing this car cruising down the highway? Mechanical engineer, Norman Timbs, created this car for his personal use. It has no doors so you step up on the side to get in.

This is the Model 40 Special Speedster designed in 1934. It was designed by Edsel Ford, president of the Ford Motor Company and son of Henry Ford. It's sleek design was based off those of European cars at the time and helped usher in that new streamed line look of cars of the 1930s. One of the innovative features of this car is that it has a starter button on the instrument panel. Who knew that as far back as 1934 that was an option?!

 

This is the Voisin C-25 Aérodyne designed in 1934. Designed by a pioneering aeronautical engineer and automobile designer, Gabriel Voisin, he introduced this car at the 1934 Paris Salon de l'Automobile car exposition. While it was a beautiful car on the outside, the highlight is definitely the interior! Check out that geometric-patterned fabric! My step-dad said this was a pimps dream car haha.

 

This is the Chrysler(Ghia) StreamlineX "Gilda" designed in 1955 by Giovanni Savonuzzi. When I first read the title of the car I immediately thought of the movie Gilda with Rita Hayworth. Low and behold the car was actually nicknamed "Gilda" after Rita's character in the movie! It was heavily inspired by jet aircraft and rocketry It definitely looks like some sort of rocket to me lol.

 

 

This is the Buick Centurion XP-301 designed in 1956 by Harley J. Earl. This might be my favorite car in the entire exhibit because the first thing I thought when I saw it was, The Jetsons! I think it was the transparent bubble top lol. Because of that top, there was no need for side mirrors or a rear view mirror on the car. However the most impressive and visionary feature of this car is that it has a rear mounted camera with a wide angled lens and a view screen embedded in the dashboard. Holy cow! This was another car design heavily influenced by aircraft.

 

This is the Bugatti Type 575 Compétition Coupé Aerolithe(French for meteor) designed in 1935. This car is actually a 2007 re-creation because unfortunately like many concept cars, the original no longer exists. It was recreated based on only a few historical photographs, factory records, and an oil painting by a Bugatti designer. The original car was unveiled at the 1935 Paris Salon de l'Automobile. Its sleek styled body was a major change to the boxy cars of the time. The color of the car is called Crème de Menthe. My, isn't she a beauty? Prior to the exhibit opening they had this car sitting in our lobby as a sort of preview of the exhibit, so I had seen it many times. But I'll never get tired of looking at it.

Hope you enjoyed this little taste of the Dream Cars exhibit. In part 2 I show some of the more modern concept cars. And I'll tell you what, the pictures don't do these cars justice! So if you're in Atlanta anytime between now and September definitely check this exhibit out!

Which was your favorite car out of the ones listed?     

MKD