Concept Cars

Concept Cars - Random Listings From Our Picture Gallery

1962 Budd XR-400 Concept Car	1962 Budd XR-400 Concept Car 1962 Budd XR-400 Concept Car Photo By: Douglas Wilkinson Location: The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. by Douglas
1963 Corvette Rondine Concept Car	1963 Corvette Rondine Concept Car 1,600,000.00 USD Offered For Sale at the: Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction January, 2008, Scottsdale, Arizona Barrett-Jackson Auction Company 7400 E Monte Cristo Ave Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Phone: 480-421-6694 Facsimile: 480-421-6697 Website: www.barrett-jackson.com 1963 Corvette Rondine Concept Car 1,600,000 LotNumber 1304 The one and only 1963 Chevrolet Corvette "Rondine" Edition. Built for the 1963 Paris Auto Show by world renowned design house Pininfarina, and commissioned by Chevrolet. Features a 327cid/360hp V8 with a 4-speed and power brakes. This historically significant prototype motorcar has been stored and preserved at the Pininfarina Museum since new, and is being offered for the first, and most likely last time ever. On the well-known Chevrolet Corvette chassis, Pininfarina has realized this special coupe displaying sports characteristics. The body style is based upon the idea of maximum simplicity and functionality, and features a remarkable outline owing to the lightness of its sections. The limited use of chrome stresses sober elegance of design and harmony of the whole. The front part, designed to obtain an outstanding penetration into air, slopes forward along a smooth curve, from where the fenders originate, slightly projecting with respect to hood configuration. Centrally in the front end, an opening is provided, acting as air intake, decorated by means of a thin chrome horizontal bars grille. The fixed front double headlights provided with removable shielding built into the body, grants perfect continuity in the car front part and excellent night visibility. The front bumper, made of chromed steel with extremely thin section, consists of two especially designed elements, limiting the radiator grille at both sides. The side panel features a sharp angle originating from the radiator grille, running along the front fender, the side and finally dying into the crest of the rear fender, thus giving the car a peculiar slender appearance. The rear end features a new and interesting "swallow tail" arrangement. Rear fenders, in fact, project with respect to the car main central structure. The turnout is a broken line plan view, resulting in a remarkable lightness of tail appearance. Built in the rear fenders are the horizontal, specially designed, stoplights. The petrol filler box lid has been replaced by a quick release cap. The roof, originating from a wide double curved windshield, is quite thin and light and rests on a typical rear element, having "roll bar" shape and function. Side windows can be lowered completely. The luggage compartment is located inside and below the rear window. The car interior, habitability and comfort of the original model has remained unchanged and is made out of elastic leather. The seats, comfortable and wrap-around, are provided in the back with an opening assuring continuous aeration. ** SOLD ON A BILL OF SALE ONLY ** by Douglas
2005 Volvo XC70 AT Concept	2005 Volvo XC70 AT Concept 2005 Volvo XC70 AT Concept by Douglas
2005 Volvo T-6 Roadster Concept - Details	2005 Volvo T-6 Roadster Concept - Details 2005 Volvo T-6 Roadster Concept - Details by Douglas
1955 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7 Concept Car	1955 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7 Concept Car 1955 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7 Concept Car Photo By: Douglas Wilkinson Location: The Blackhawk Auto Museum in Danville, California. by Douglas
1970 American Motors AMX/3 Concept Car	1970 American Motors AMX/3 Concept Car 1970 American Motors AMX/3 Concept Car Photo By: Douglas Wilkinson Location: The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. by Douglas
Ford StreetKa Prototype	Ford StreetKa Prototype Ford StreetKa Prototype by Douglas
1956 Buick Centurion Concept Car	1956 Buick Centurion Concept Car 1956 Buick Centurion Concept Car Photo By: Douglas Wilkinson Location: The Buick Gallery and Research Center in Flint, Michigan. by Douglas
1955 Mercury D-528 "Beldone" Concept Car	1955 Mercury D-528 "Beldone" Concept Car 187,000.00 USD Offered For Sale at the: RM Auction - Vintage Motor Cars at Meadow Brook Hall August 6, 2005, Auburn Hills, Michigan RM Auctions One Classic Car Drive Blenheim, Ontario N0P 1A0 Canada Phone: 519-352-4575 Website: www.rmauctions.com 1955 Mercury D-528 "Beldone" Concept Car LOT: 054 Chassis No. XY3-36 AUCTION RESULTS: Lot was Sold at a price of $187,000 Experimental Y-block V8, two-bbl carburetor, two-speed automatic transmission with overdrive, separate frame, coil sprung suspension and four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 120" One of the least known of Ford’s concept vehicles built in the mid 1950s is the “Beldone,” or D-528. The name D-528 stemmed from the fact it was the 528th "design" project. It was unique in the fact it was less concept and more research inspired. The D-528 was conceived to test advance concepts in air conditioning, seating, ingress and egress, lighting, front frame crash absorption, as well as being Ford’s first car without "A" pillars and initially designed as Ford’s first car with four headlights. The exterior styling of the D-528 was designed by Gil Spear, while the interior was crafted by John Samsen. Spears believed sound engineering was a necessary component of the cars he designed and this was reflected in the D-528. Air conditioning was seen as becoming a popular option in the future, but because the AC evaporators were so large they had to be located in the trunk. Thus, to provide adequate luggage room the spare tire was positioned in one rear fender and the gas tank in the other. The roof of the D-528 was shaped like a "T," and hollow to act as a conduit for cold air from the air conditioning evaporator. Cold air would flow-up through the hollow "C" pillars, into the roof section, and exit through perforation panels in the headliner. For ease of entry or exit, each panel was individually raised or lowered by an electrical motor when a door opened or closed. The hooded, reverse backlight, later a Mercury styling cue, was first seen on the D-528 and was manually operated. The D-528 and a companion car, the D-526, were also the first full-sized, fully operational cars built by Ford personnel with fiberglass bodies. Both the D-528 and the D-526 were started, but not finished, at the Design Department due to corporate restructuring. Engineering was given its own design studio under Gil Spear’s direction and it was here the D-528 was further developed. The D-528 was finished, but was revised several times, remaining a work in progress when this design studio was disbanded in 1958. Subsequent revisions were then made, some of which included the roof structure. The A-pillars and an interior framework to hold the roof up were also installed. The D-528 was moved from place to place, often being used to test some new engineering concept. In the early sixties the D-528 was sent to Hollywood for use in the movie industry. Who better to do the work than the iconic George Barris? Barris removed the name "D-528" from the front fenders and replaced it with "Beldone" – a name selected by its new owners, Paramount Pictures. The Beldone was used in the 1964 Jerry Lewis movie, The Patsy, and later in several other movies and television shows while still in the possession of Paramount Pictures. After a number of changes in ownership the Beldone was sold to a group of Canadian investors and the Guild of Automotive Restorers who painstakingly restored it in the late 1990s. The restoration was executed to concours standards and special attention was paid to ensure that all its original factory developed quirks were retained. Now presented in gleaming gold paintwork and finished with a fresh white interior, the D-528 is an eyecatcher that is truly unique in every respect. It is a welcome entrant and display car at events throughout the country as there is truly nothing like it, attesting to this, the Mercury was shown at the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance in 1997. Powered by its unique version of a Y-block V8, then still at the experimental stages, the D-528/Beldome represents excellent value given its long history, provenance and rarity, especially when compared to recent sales of “concept” cars at auction. by Douglas
1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt Show Car	1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt Show Car 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt Show Car Location: 2009 Concours d'Elegance Amelia Island, Florida Date: March 15, 2009 Photos By: Douglas Wilkinson by Douglas

• List All the Concept Cars

Concept Cars

Concept cars and prototypes are used by car makers to create public interest, to measure public opinion, and sometimes to convince the decision-makers of the industry to introduce a radically new vehicle. Concepts cars are usually designed and built in great secrecy and unveiled at major car shows. Many of the concept cars introduced in the Forties and Fifties, with the "futuristic" rocket shapes and plexiglass bubbles seem almost cartoonish now but were the dreams and projections of what automobiles would look like cruising down the automated, hands-off-driving of the future.

Related Pages

• Remarkable Cars Home Page

Thanks