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Here's the Holden Efijy concept car on display at the General Motors showcase in the parking lot of the Athens Coney Island diner in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak during the 2007 Woodward Dream Cruise.
When I think of American car companies that operate in Australia, I primarily think of Ford, but GM also operates in Australia through their subsidiary, GM Holden Ltd.
The Holden Efijy is a retro-styled concept car with a design evocative of the automobiles of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially the Holden FJ (which was made in 1953; I guess Australian designers were still into curvy styles while American cars were beginning to sprout tailfins).
From Wikipedia:
Richard Ferlazzo was the designer behind the Efijy project. He began sketching the first designs in 1989. The main reason for making this car is purely for entertainment. “Invariably, people smile when they see it for the first time. Efijy is our accolade to the talented designers who cut loose with some fantastically flamboyant styling in the post-war 1940s and 1950s,” Richard Ferlazzo said. “Ask the question, ‘what would these people have created using all the skill sets and technology we have now’, and Efijy might be the all-Australian answer to that question," in relation to the original FJ designers.
The engine used is a Chevrolet 6.0 litre LS2 V8 engine that has been supercharged and modified by Ron Harrop, an ex FJ racer and well respected automotive person in Australia. The engine produces 480 kilowatts (645 bhp) and 775 newton metres (560 ft·lbf) of torque through the rear wheels.
In 1946, Senior GM designer Frank Hershey had been working on the rear fender design idea that had first come to him before the war, when Harley Earl led the field trip to Selfridge air base to see the P-38 fighter. Looking at the plane’s twin tail rudders that day, Hershey immediately thought of fins on sea creatures—slicing through the water’s surface as a shark moved in on its prey, flashing silver-blue in the sun when a sailfish rose out of the ocean in full flight, waving a languid goodbye just before a whale disappeared into the deep—heart-stopping images long embedded in his imagination.
It struck him that fins were wondrous creations of nature—beautiful, sleek, and shiny, streamlined and symmetrical, the embodiment of power, speed, maneuverability, and stability, everything that a modern automobile should be. And yet no one had designed them into the body of a car.
The tailfin was first introduced on the 1948 Cadillac. Tailfins took particular hold on the automotive buying public’s imagination as a result of Chrysler designer Virgil Exner’s Forward Look, which subsequently resulted in manufacturers scrambling to install larger and larger tailfins onto new models.
Though sharing some design characteristics with other Fords of the time, such as single, circular headlamps and tail lamps and modest tailfins, the Thunderbird was sleeker in shape and featured a hood scoop and a 150 mph (240 km/h) speedometer not available on other Fords.
The third year of Thunderbird’s First Generation of cars was 1957. Changes included slightly reshaping the front bumper and the grille, tailfins, and taillights were made larger. The spare wheel was relocated back to inside the trunk and mounted vertically to allow more trunk space.
The tailfin era of automobile styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1955 and 1961. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry, where it was regarded as the "golden age" of American auto design.
Tailfins soon lost popularity. By the late 1950s, Cadillac and Chrysler – driven by the respective competing visions of GM's Earl and Chrysler's Exner – had escalated the size of fins till some thought they were stylistically questionable and they became a symbol of American excess in the early 1960s. The 1961 models are considered the last of the "Forward Look" designs; Exner later referred to the finless 1962 downsized Plymouth and Dodge models as "plucked chickens". He believed Chrysler executives had "picked" away at the cars to make them lower in cost.
Although fins were out of favor by the early 1960s, fins could still give aerodynamic advantages. In the early 1970s, Porsche 917 racing automobiles sported fins reminiscent of Exner's designs.
This is an Autostitch composite picture of the Holden Efijy concept car on display at the General Motors showcase in the parking lot of the Athens Coney Island diner in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak during the 2007 Woodward Dream Cruise.
When I think of American car companies that operate in Australia, I primarily think of Ford, but GM also operates in Australia through their subsidiary, GM Holden Ltd.
The Holden Efijy is a retro-styled concept car with a design evocative of the automobiles of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially the Holden FJ (which was made in 1953; I guess Australian designers were still into curvy styles while American cars were beginning to sprout tailfins).
From Wikipedia:
Richard Ferlazzo was the designer behind the Efijy project. He began sketching the first designs in 1989. The main reason for making this car is purely for entertainment. “Invariably, people smile when they see it for the first time. Efijy is our accolade to the talented designers who cut loose with some fantastically flamboyant styling in the post-war 1940s and 1950s,” Richard Ferlazzo said. “Ask the question, ‘what would these people have created using all the skill sets and technology we have now’, and Efijy might be the all-Australian answer to that question," in relation to the original FJ designers.
The engine used is a Chevrolet 6.0 litre LS2 V8 engine that has been supercharged and modified by Ron Harrop, an ex FJ racer and well respected automotive person in Australia. The engine produces 480 kilowatts (645 bhp) and 775 newton metres (560 ft·lbf) of torque through the rear wheels.
A shot of the rear of the Holden Efijy concept car on display at the General Motors showcase in the parking lot of the Athens Coney Island diner in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak during the 2007 Woodward Dream Cruise.
I have no idea why I didn't post this when I was posting the other pictures of the Efijy.
The 1958 Buick is an ugly car, and so is the Oldsmobile. GM designers probably had better stuff planned but being caught napping by the 1957 Chrysler lineup, they went with stuff created quickly.
Annual car show in Lyman, Washington
1950’s
Inspiration from the sky.
In Detroit’s design studios in the 1950s, there was a sense that technology could make anything happen.
During this time, designers created one-of-a-kind show cars that utilized experimental engineering. The sweeping fins, sharp front ends, and bomb-shaped details of their designs recalled fighter planes and rocket ships. These cars reflected a celebratory attitude toward military imagery in popular culture following the war.
From GM Heritage Site:
The Firebird III was by far the most intriguing and influential of the Motorama Firebirds. Built in 1958, it was the only member of the Firebird trio to have any direct impact on the design of General Motors production vehicles. The 1959 Cadillac featured some of the Firebird III's surface development and its severe rocker panel tuck-under. The 1961 Caddy picked up the Firebird's rear skegs - those stubby little fins that hung down off the bottoms of the rear fenders.
The Firebird III broke a number of legendary GM designer Harley Earl's styling rules and that's one of the reasons it became such an important design. It had very little chrome and no parallel lines. The vehicle also put the ultimate twist on tailfins. GM entertained plans for a Firebird IV that went as far as a full-sized wooden frame, but the program's greatest legacy was to give its name to the Pontiac pony cars starting in 1967.
From the Exhibit:
The towering, almost 5 foot high fin, angular front end, and glass bubble enclosures give this show car a space-age appearance. Harley Earl, head of design at General Motors, described it as the car you might see an astronaut drive to the launchpad.
The Firebird III looked as futuristic as the technology whirring under its hood. Features including self-driving capabilities, a turbine-powered engine, and a single joy-stick for steering, speeding up, and braking. Over 60 years later, automakers are still experimenting with autonomous driving and new types of engines to make cars safer and more efficient. Joystick control exists today making driving easier for people with disabilities.
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Detroit Style is the exhibition organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts which brings the artistry and influence of Detroit car designers working between 1950 and the present day. It brings together 12 coupes and sedans designed across 70 years. Highlighting significant achievements in style and technology, the 12 cars include unique examples of experimental show cars created for display and iconic production models sold to the mass market. Design drawings enable you to imagine the creative and innovative processes that bring a vehicle from the drawing board to the street.
Photo taken in Kungsholmstorg at Gärdesloppet, or Prins Bertil Memorial, Stockholm, Sweden.
Driver: Ove Karlsson.
The Corvette is unique in automotive history. No other car has ever achieved 57 years (and counting) of production, and no other car has come close to the romantic reputation of Chevrolet's powerful two-seat sports car.
The Corvette was invented in 1951 by GM designer Harley Earl, who was inspired by the great European sports cars of the day and wanted to create an American sports car that could compete and win at the race track. The name "Corvette" was borrowed from a line of small, fast navy ships used in World War II.
C3 - The Stingray Era (1968-1982)
The C3 Corvettes are by far the largest generation ever produced. Of the 1.5 million Corvettes built between 1953 and 2010, over 540,000 were made in this era.
corvettes.about.com/od/history/a/CorvetteHistoryByTheNumb...
Gärdesloppet, or Prins Bertil Memorial:
Prince Bertil Memorial takes place each year in Stockholm, Sweden, in honour of Prince Bertil, uncle to Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf. The Prince was a race-car driver in the 1930s, using the pseudonym "Monsieur Adrian" to placate his disapproving father, later King Gustaf VI Adolf. Prince Bertil continued to act in the monarchy's best interests by forgoing marriage to his British girlfriend, Lilian Craig. Under Swedish law, which has since been changed, such a union with a commoner would have rendered him ineligible to serve as regent, should the need have arisen, to Carl Gustaf, son of Prince Bertil's deceased older brother. The Prince finally married the patient Lilian in 1976, three years after nephew Carl Gustaf was safely on the throne.
L to R
1968 Motor Trend Magazine: Former GM designer, Harry Bradley makes hard cash by publishing fantastic, impossible, beautifully optimistic, disproportionate pen and ink renderings akin to the impossible, disproportionate female figures by Bill Ward in the pages of 'From Sex To Sexty'.
2015 Various Online Forums: Anonymous designer gives away free fantastic, impossible, disproportionate, optimistic Photoshop renderings reminiscent of the impossible, disproportionate female figures found in Second Life.
Equipment used: Nikon D90 with Really Right Stuff (RRF) right angle bracket, DR-6 right angle finder, Sigma 10-20mm lens, Gitzo 2220 tripod, Acratech GV2 gimbal / ball head,
Lighting: A single Elinchrome FX 400Ri with 2’X2‘ soft box, homemade gobos and a reflector. Strobe was triggered by a Skyport radio trigger. I fixed a small ball head with a paper clamp to hold the reflector. The ball head was fixed to a Manfrotto Articulating Arm 196-2 which was mounted on a Super Clamp. The ball head made positioning of the reflector a breeze.
This car model is all about the color and the fins. So, I decided it to photograph from the back (to emphasize the fins) though it looks quite striking in profile too (like a dart). To make the fins more exaggerated I photographed from a very short distance, less than 6 inches. To cover the whole model from such a short distance I used a focal length of 10 mm. I also chose a low angle to get an uninterrupted view of the fins – that is to make them stand out.
I bracketed for different DOFs and chose one, one that kept most of the car slightly out of focus but recognizable, while rendering the fins sharp. The main problem in lighting was to get the chrome part on top of the fin to reflect light making it shine. This gave unexpected problems as the whole surroundings were black and the chrome part was also looking black due to reflections from the surroundings. I was able to solve it by slowly and carefully positioning the reflector as I was seeing through the viewfinder. The reflector was also angled to throw less light on the front fender (making it darker), again to emphasize the fins. Thanks for those modeling lamps. Having the reflector mounted on a ball head made things easier. Special mention must be made of the DR-6 finder which helped my back to live another day !
I collect only sports car models. But this model is so different from anything else I had, so I just bought it!
Did pink Cadillacs really exist? Yes they did. I have a picture of the great boxer Sugar Ray Robinson standing next to one (though not this particular model). He caused a stir when he drove it in Paris! This car whose full name is 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible (I guess to match the car's length) represents different things to different people. To some wasteful extravaganza and to some realization of a dream! Whatever may be ultimate verdict about this car, it represents a landmark in the automotive design. Penned by the great GM designer Harley Earl, the fins which reached their zenith in this model (they were introduced a few years earlier by him) had a profound influence on automotive design. Even Ferraris sprouted fins and so did the staid German engineering master pieces, Mercedes Benz cars (though in a much more muted fashion) for a while. Fortunately, Rolls-Royce did not succumb to this pressure.
The bullet shaped tail lamps are too worth mentioning. Their shape was called “Dagmars”. In case you want to know what this means please refer to Wikipedia!
All that said is this car a classic? The well-known automotive critic of BBC Top Gear fame, Quentin Wilson included this car in his book “The Ultimate Classic Car Book”. Though one might question him, let us accept that it is a classic, perhaps not in the tradition of the European “Automotive Art Sculptures” (the likes of Ferrari, Bugatti, Delahey, Rolls, etc.) but a different kind – one that you cannot simply ignore. This is what Mr. Wilson he has to say in the book:
Quote:
No car sums up the America at its peak than the 1959 Cadillac, - a rocket styled starship for the orbiting the galaxy of new freeways in the richest and most powerful country on earth. With 42 inch fins, the 59‘ Caddy marks the zenith of American car design. Two tons in weight, 20 feet long, 6 feet wide it oozed money, self-confidence, and unchallenged power. (My note - Wall Street wizards hadn’t invented Collateral Debt Obligations by then). Under the hood almost the size of Texas nestled an engine almost as big as the California, a 6 liter (390 Cu Inch) V-8. While it might looked it was jet powered, the 59’ handled like the Exxon Valdes. That enormous girth meant you needed a nine-lane freeway to turn and two tons of metal work gave it all the get up and go of the Empire State Building. But the 59’ Caddy will always be remembered as a glorious monument to the final years of American Optimism. And for a brief hysterical moment the ’59 was the preeminent American car, the ultimate in the crazed consumerism. It was not only a car but a symbol of its time that says more about 1950s America than trunk of history books.
The ’59 Caddy was the American dream.
Unquote
Tech Specs:
Body: Two door, convertible, 6 seater
Engine: 390 Cu Inch (6 liter) V-8; Transmission: GM 3-speed automatic
Length: 20 ft (6.1 m); Width: 6 ft (1.83 m); Weight: 2 Tons (gosh!)
Performance: 0-60 mph in, 10.3 seconds; Top Speed: 112 mph
Fuel Consumption: Now come on! Do you really have to ask?
Sorry for the long story. Hope you enjoyed it though!
The General Motors Phantom Coupe, also known as the Pontiac Phantom or by its internal code name "Madame X", was a personal expression of Bill Mitchell's design philosophy and was intended as a retirement gift to himself. It was also the final project for his Studio X, which had been reopened specifically to design this car. The design of the Phantom harks back to the late-1930s Cadillacs, reflecting the style that Mitchell had earlier in his career. By the time Mitchell retired in 1977, he had worked his way up to vice president of design for all of GM's divisions. At that time, he was responsible for designing the Pontiac Firebird, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, and Buick Riviera. His designs were eventually turned into more than 100 million cars.
The Phantom was built on the chassis of a Pontiac Grand Prix and featured a fastback two-seat coupe design. However, it only consisted of a fiberglass shell and did not have a drivetrain, making it inoperable. Despite its non-functional status, the Phantom was a significant piece as it represented the kind of cars Mitchell loved and his vision for GM's design future.
After its creation, the Phantom Coupe faced some resistance within GM. When Howard Kehrl, the executive vice president of product planning and technical staffs, saw the car at the Milford Proving Grounds, he ordered its immediate removal. Nevertheless, the Phantom's legacy continued, and the car is currently preserved in the collection of the Sloan Museum in Flint, Michigan.
Bill Mitchell's impact on automotive design is profound, having been responsible for iconic designs, and his work has influenced generations of designers. The Phantom Coupe stands as a testament to his illustrious career and his lasting influence on the design language of American automobiles.
[Sources: Bing Copilot, Wikipedia and slashgear.com]
Head GM designer Harley Earl first gave tailfins to the Cadillac Sixty Special of 1948. He had been inspired by the vertical stabilisers on the twin-tailed Lockheed Lightning P-38 fighter plane used in WW2.
From the relatively modest 1948 entrée, Earl made sure the fins became bigger and bolder each year, in keeping with his philosophy of "dynamic obsolescence".
Earl retired from GM having signed off what became known as the "King Fin Caddie" for 1959. It was never really surpassed for fin height or design bombast.
"My friends all drive Porsches", sang Janis Joplin and so she did- a 1964 356 SC Cabriolet that she bought when it was 4 yrs old used as a daily driver. What made her car special compared to the other 356s was psychedelic paint job which as flamboyant as her music persona.
Joplin is said to have paid her roadie Dave Richards $500 to decorate the light ivory car portraying the "History of the Universe" in every colour of the rainbow. He did starting with a coat of Candy Apple Red then adding portraits of Joplin's Big Brother and the holding company band-mates and the other motifs such as ;The Eye Of the God" on the hood and a California valley on the right door.
This car is a tribute to that work of art painted by former GM designer, Nick Moskatow
75 Yrs of Porsche
Canadian International AutoShow 2023
Metro Toronto Convention Center
This illustration is one of several in a special display at the Gilmore Car Museum titled "The League of Retired Automotive Designers Spirit of Innovation”. This rendering of what a modern Duesenberg might look like is by retired GM designer Joan K. Creamer. I took my photo during a visit on May 18, 2018.
All of my classic car photos can be found here: Car Collections
Click on the photo for a nice large image.
This illustration is one of several in a special display at the Gilmore Car Museum titled "The League of Retired Automotive Designers Spirit of Innovation”. This concept car rendering of what a future Duesenberg might look like was done in 2015 by retired GM designer Roger E. Hughet. I took my photo during a visit on September 22, 2018.
All of my classic car photos can be found here: Car Collections
Click on the photo for a nice large image.
The building at 801 Hungerford Drive is the only modern “car culture” gas station left in Rockville and one of the very few buildings associated with Rockville Pike’s role in the town becoming a car-dependent suburban community of Washington DC in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Period of Significance for the property is limited to the date of construction -- 1963. Although the building is less than 50 years old, it is considered a “Fragile or Short-Lived Resource.” According to the National Register Bulletin No. 22 “changing transportation routes, and shifts in consumer tastes have jeopardized many early …roadside buildings. Their rate of survival with integrity from the post World War II era is very low”. The building at 801 Hungerford Drive is a cement block gas station/ auto repair commercial facility constructed in 1963 and sited between a six-lane section of Hungerford Drive and the tracks of the MetroRail and MARC. The one-story building is located on a corner lot and has a square footprint. The massing consists of a square set into a L-shaped corner attached to the north and east sides of the square. The L-shape rectangular sections contain repair service bays for the garage. The station is set toward the back corner of the lot, providing paved frontage. Two landscape islands, one on the corner and the other fronting Hungerford Drive, are the exception to the pavement.
The building has a flat composition roof and a projecting plain cornice. The corner L-shaped section is 1-2 feet higher than the roof of the square section that fronts the building. The cornice on the square section projects out further than the cornice on the taller section of the building, providing a canopy effect. The cornice lists the type of automobile repair done by the shop: tune-ups, brakes, exhaust, tires, etc. The square customer lobby has west and south elevations consisting of large plate glass windows that are canted forward at the top about 15 degrees. Recessed entrances are located in the center of the elevation with large angled, single-sheet glass sidewalls. The windows reach from the projecting cornice down to a one-foot high poured concrete foundation wall. Each of the two elevations contains four window panels, with the recessed entry dividing them into groups of two. The panels that are closest to the garage repair bays are not single panes – they are jalousies. These could be replacement windows to provide additional circulation.
The first gas station in the country was built in 1907 when a Standard Oil of California bulk station used an old water heater mounted on a stand to dispense gasoline. By 1910 gas was dispensed from underground tanks and curb pumps started appearing all over the country.
The first off-street filling station was built in Pittsburgh in 1913. Early gas stations were designed to look like small houses. By mimicking the current architectural styles they fit in with the community and became accepted parts of the built environment. An early gas station in Montgomery County was the Kensington Service Center (1926) a Bungalow type form that is a contributing resource in the Kensington Historic District.
The Takoma Park Historic District contains two historic gas stations: a Tudor Revival model with stone trim openings and a half timbered gable, and the only remaining Art Deco gas station in the county.
After the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 there was a great emphasis on high-speed visibility.
When GM designer Harley Earl took airplane tailfins and put them on the Cadillac, these dramatically angled forms became an icon of American design and architecture. This design idiom is found locally on the 1948-54 Twinbrook subdivision houses.
Even in this small gas station, the angled forward pitch of the windows suggest an era when automobile related buildings reflected the thrill of speed that new cars and the new highways provided. With increased speeds, these buildings needed taller and brighter signs, and buildings that had forward aerodynamic forms.
In 1959, Arthur H. Bowie and Kenneth T. Sullivan conveyed the piece of land that is now 801 Hungerford to the Thriftway Oil Corporation. The state property tax records show the current gas station was built in 1963. The 1961 City of Rockville directory has 23 listings for gasoline stations, most of which were on Rockville Pike.
The 1968 Rockville City Directory also identifies 23 Gas Stations. Most of these are affiliated with the large oil companies of the time, such as Adams Gulf Station, or Cannon’s Esso, or Crouch’s Texaco. Many listed themselves as places to service the car, rather than gas stations. Listings include Johnson’s Esso Servicenter (a popular hybrid descriptor), Beall’s Esso Servicenter, Dilworth’s American Service Center, and Dodson’s Texaco Service.
The 1968 Rockville directory lists a Rockville 66 Auto Service at 801 N. Washington Street.
Based on the surrounding addresses and directory notations, it appears that the 801 N. Washington gas station now has the address of 801 Hungerford. The directory listings for Washington note that Frederick Avenue intersects at 800 N. Washington, and Frederick Road begins after 802 N. Washington. This section of Hungerford Drive was once known as Washington Street. In 1975, the roadway was widened to six lanes. The Metrorail came through in 1984 and the area around the gas station became increasingly built up.
The Phillips Petroleum Company began in 1917 and became Phillips 66 in 1927 when the company test drove a vehicle running on its new fuel along Rt. 66 and the car’s speed was 66 mph. The first Phillips 66 gas station was built in that year in Wichita Kansas, and has been preserved as a historic site. The orginal shield logo was in black and orange, which was changed to a red, white and black color scheme in 1959.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Phillips expanded its gasoline marketing nationwide and entered the West Coast market in 1966 when it purchased Tidewater Oil Company's Flying A stations in several states along with a refinery. In 1967, Phillips became the nation's second oil company to sell and market gasoline in all 50 states with the opening of a Phillips 66 station in Anchorage, Alaska. Phillips 66's era in 50-state marketing was short-lived due to a number of factors. The company withdrew from gasoline marketing in the northeastern U.S. in 1972 and sold off the former Tidewater/Flying A properties in California and other West Coast states in 1976. In Rockville: Portrait of a City Eileen McGuckian describes early 1960s Rockville Pike as the “ancient thoroughfare” that became a four-lane divided roadway with commerical enterprises of every type.
Businesses identified include a general store, Montrose Motors and Dixie Cream Donut Shop, followed by drive-in restaurants Morrell’s and McDonalds. The Rainbow Motel, Hank Dietle’s tavern and Wheeler’s funeral home completed the mix of old and new, until the strikingly different Congressional Shopping Center was constructed with its 4,000 car parking lot. This area of Hungerford Drive (formerly North Washington Street) developed similarly to Rockville Pike south of Town Center upon completion of Hungerford Drive in the early 1950s. The gas station at 801 Hungerford is one of the last remaining 1950s – 1960s automobile oriented buildings in Rockville. It does not appear to have any important association with a particular gasoline company, or significant person. The owners, Morton and Caroline Alper, do not appear in city directories from the 1960s and 70s, the Montgomery County Historical Society’s biography files, or obituary files. The gas station is one of the few remaining gas stations in Rockville that hasn’t been renovated or updated.
A gas station at 1910 Rockville Pike dates from 1966 and could be categorized as Neoeclectic with its stone facing and cedar shake shingled mansard roof.
Another gas station that was surveyed as part of Peerless Rockville’s Recent Past initiative is found at 1907 Veirs Mill Road.
The 1968 Veirs MIll Road gas station is constructed of brick and has vertical aluminum panels. The double shallow gable front and the tall wide brick chimneystack are reminiscent of a modern ranch house from the 1960s and 70s. Jackle and Sculli’s The Gas Station in America refers to a very similar station as “The results of ‘face-lifting’ and ‘top-hatting’: an oblong box modified in the Shell’s ‘ranch’ style”.
Both the Veirs Mill and Rockville Pike stations differ from the 801 Hungerford Station in that their architecture has more in common with popular residential architecture of the time as opposed to being distinctly a part of “Car Culture”.
A gas station in the Montgomery County crossroads of Laytonsville (21615 Laytonsville Road) is owned by G. D. Armstrong, who also owned the station at 801 Hungerford from 1997 until recently. Although the building is almost an exact duplicate of the 801 Hungerford station, it was built two years later in 1965 and was always owned by G.D. Armstrong. Mr. Charles Owen, long time resident of Laytonsville and current Mayor, said that he remembered this station as a Phillips 66 station and thought it had been there since the late 1950s or early 60s.
An archivist for the Conoco Phillips Corporation was consulted about the 801 Hungerford Drive station. Judging from a current photograph of the station, Archivist Jenny Brown stated that she believes the station type was used in the 1960s but the style looks more like a 1950s station. She sent the following photos illustrating the use of the floor to ceiling slanted glass windows.
In addition to the similarity of the slanting or canted display windows, the service garage doors have the identical two-tier horizontal panes with bottom panels. The similarities with the Laytonsville and Hungerford Drive stations extend to the buildings’ massing. The 1950s buildings depicted in the ConocoPhillips archives clearly have one principal façade – they don’t seem to be located on a corner lot. The Laytonsville and Hungerford Drive stations are located on corner lots. The corner lot prototype appears to be the same building, except for the two-bay service garage being split, with one bay being attached to the far sides of the square customer service area with the big slanted windows.
The prototype building associated with a specific business or product is sometimes referred to as franchise architecture. Part of the package purchased by individual entrepreneurs, the
architectural style helped maintain a chain identity in a highly competitive market place.
After WWII a massive franchise industry developed. Returning veterans and displaced farmers had the opportunity to realize the American dream of owning and running their own business, achieving personal and financial independence. Signature architecture became the cornerstone of the franchise business in the 1950s and early 60s. In the mid 1960s, the most successful franchise business, McDonalds, did away with signature architecture, separating the signature feature (golden arches) from the actual building. Franchise identity became portable and the buildings were more conventional and easier to recycle into other commercial uses.
The “Rockville Historic Buildings Catalog” identifies only one building associated with the roadside architecture along Rockville Pike -- a different type of a structure that also dates from the 1960s. Dixie Cream Donuts was constructed in 1965 – a rectangular 1-story building with large display windows, a pyramid roof and a small Colonial Revival style cupola vent with a pyramid roof. The building currently houses a Subway franchise. (1402 Rockville Pike), former Dixie Donuts. The building fronts a small parking area of an access road along the pike and is surrounded by other commercial real estate.
The gas station at 801 Hungerford Drive is a Phillips 66 prototype station from the 1950s and early 1960s. These “buildings as advertisement” have strong association with the franchise era and economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s. There are very few commercial buildings on Rockville Pike or in the City of Rockville that have this historic association and have not been modified. In addition, the iconic value of the “vintage” gas station has great association with America’s “car culture”.
The significance of the property is the primarily due to its building type, as opposed to its setting.
The prefabricated gas stations of this era were designed so they could be assembled easily and salvaged easily if they proved unprofitable. The design intent was not rooted to a regional culture or sense of place.
Racing legend John Fitch drives his Fitch Phoenix alongside a Glas cabrio.
A car with an absolutely fascinating history, built by racing legend John Fitch, whom I first met a couple years ago. Born in 1917, Fitch flew P-51 Mustangs in WWII, shooting down an Me-262. After the war, Fitch raced for Mercedes-Benz (in a 300SL at Mille Miglia) and Cunningham overseas, achieving several victories. Fitch later started a Corvair tuning shop in CT, and got the idea of creating a GT car using a Corvair chassis. He worked with artist Coby Whitmore and GM designer Robert Cumberford (now at Automobile Magazine) on the design of the car, doing testing at the nearby Lime Rock race track. Intermeccanica was originally supposed to assemble the bodies and ship them to CT. Fitch planned on building 500 cars a year, and even though the prototype was warmly received at car shows, new legislation and the demise of the Corvair severely hurt production plans.
The Phoenix weighs 2150lbs, and a has a 170hp intercooled flat six engine, with a 7.5 second sprint to 60mph, and a 130mph top speed.
Wiki article on John Fitch en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fitch_(driver)
a car with an absolutely fascinating history, built by racing legend John Fitch, whom I first met a couple years ago. Born in 1917, Fitch flew P-51 Mustangs in WWII, shooting down an Me-262. After the war, Fitch raced for Mercedes-Benz (in a 300SL at Mille Miglia) and Cunningham overseas, achieving several victories. Fitch later started a Corvair tuning shop in CT, and got the idea of creating a GT car using a Corvair chassis. He worked with artist Coby Whitmore and GM designer Robert Cumberford (now at Automobile Magazine) on the design of the car, doing testing at the nearby Lime Rock race track. Intermeccanica was originally supposed to assemble the bodies and ship them to CT. Fitch planned on building 500 cars a year, and even though the prototype was warmly received at car shows, new legislation and the demise of the Corvair severely hurt production plans.
The Phoenix weighs 2150lbs, and a has a 170hp intercooled flat six engine, with a 7.5 second sprint to 60mph, and a 130mph top speed.
Wiki article on John Fitch en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fitch_(driver)
The building at 801 Hungerford Drive is the only modern “car culture” gas station left in Rockville and one of the very few buildings associated with Rockville Pike’s role in the town becoming a car-dependent suburban community of Washington DC in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Period of Significance for the property is limited to the date of construction -- 1963. Although the building is less than 50 years old, it is considered a “Fragile or Short-Lived Resource.” According to the National Register Bulletin No. 22 “changing transportation routes, and shifts in consumer tastes have jeopardized many early …roadside buildings. Their rate of survival with integrity from the post World War II era is very low”. The building at 801 Hungerford Drive is a cement block gas station/ auto repair commercial facility constructed in 1963 and sited between a six-lane section of Hungerford Drive and the tracks of the MetroRail and MARC. The one-story building is located on a corner lot and has a square footprint. The massing consists of a square set into a L-shaped corner attached to the north and east sides of the square. The L-shape rectangular sections contain repair service bays for the garage. The station is set toward the back corner of the lot, providing paved frontage. Two landscape islands, one on the corner and the other fronting Hungerford Drive, are the exception to the pavement.
The building has a flat composition roof and a projecting plain cornice. The corner L-shaped section is 1-2 feet higher than the roof of the square section that fronts the building. The cornice on the square section projects out further than the cornice on the taller section of the building, providing a canopy effect. The cornice lists the type of automobile repair done by the shop: tune-ups, brakes, exhaust, tires, etc. The square customer lobby has west and south elevations consisting of large plate glass windows that are canted forward at the top about 15 degrees. Recessed entrances are located in the center of the elevation with large angled, single-sheet glass sidewalls. The windows reach from the projecting cornice down to a one-foot high poured concrete foundation wall. Each of the two elevations contains four window panels, with the recessed entry dividing them into groups of two. The panels that are closest to the garage repair bays are not single panes – they are jalousies. These could be replacement windows to provide additional circulation.
The first gas station in the country was built in 1907 when a Standard Oil of California bulk station used an old water heater mounted on a stand to dispense gasoline. By 1910 gas was dispensed from underground tanks and curb pumps started appearing all over the country.
The first off-street filling station was built in Pittsburgh in 1913. Early gas stations were designed to look like small houses. By mimicking the current architectural styles they fit in with the community and became accepted parts of the built environment. An early gas station in Montgomery County was the Kensington Service Center (1926) a Bungalow type form that is a contributing resource in the Kensington Historic District.
The Takoma Park Historic District contains two historic gas stations: a Tudor Revival model with stone trim openings and a half timbered gable, and the only remaining Art Deco gas station in the county.
After the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 there was a great emphasis on high-speed visibility.
When GM designer Harley Earl took airplane tailfins and put them on the Cadillac, these dramatically angled forms became an icon of American design and architecture. This design idiom is found locally on the 1948-54 Twinbrook subdivision houses.
Even in this small gas station, the angled forward pitch of the windows suggest an era when automobile related buildings reflected the thrill of speed that new cars and the new highways provided. With increased speeds, these buildings needed taller and brighter signs, and buildings that had forward aerodynamic forms.
In 1959, Arthur H. Bowie and Kenneth T. Sullivan conveyed the piece of land that is now 801 Hungerford to the Thriftway Oil Corporation. The state property tax records show the current gas station was built in 1963. The 1961 City of Rockville directory has 23 listings for gasoline stations, most of which were on Rockville Pike.
The 1968 Rockville City Directory also identifies 23 Gas Stations. Most of these are affiliated with the large oil companies of the time, such as Adams Gulf Station, or Cannon’s Esso, or Crouch’s Texaco. Many listed themselves as places to service the car, rather than gas stations. Listings include Johnson’s Esso Servicenter (a popular hybrid descriptor), Beall’s Esso Servicenter, Dilworth’s American Service Center, and Dodson’s Texaco Service.
The 1968 Rockville directory lists a Rockville 66 Auto Service at 801 N. Washington Street.
Based on the surrounding addresses and directory notations, it appears that the 801 N. Washington gas station now has the address of 801 Hungerford. The directory listings for Washington note that Frederick Avenue intersects at 800 N. Washington, and Frederick Road begins after 802 N. Washington. This section of Hungerford Drive was once known as Washington Street. In 1975, the roadway was widened to six lanes. The Metrorail came through in 1984 and the area around the gas station became increasingly built up.
The Phillips Petroleum Company began in 1917 and became Phillips 66 in 1927 when the company test drove a vehicle running on its new fuel along Rt. 66 and the car’s speed was 66 mph. The first Phillips 66 gas station was built in that year in Wichita Kansas, and has been preserved as a historic site. The orginal shield logo was in black and orange, which was changed to a red, white and black color scheme in 1959.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Phillips expanded its gasoline marketing nationwide and entered the West Coast market in 1966 when it purchased Tidewater Oil Company's Flying A stations in several states along with a refinery. In 1967, Phillips became the nation's second oil company to sell and market gasoline in all 50 states with the opening of a Phillips 66 station in Anchorage, Alaska. Phillips 66's era in 50-state marketing was short-lived due to a number of factors. The company withdrew from gasoline marketing in the northeastern U.S. in 1972 and sold off the former Tidewater/Flying A properties in California and other West Coast states in 1976. In Rockville: Portrait of a City Eileen McGuckian describes early 1960s Rockville Pike as the “ancient thoroughfare” that became a four-lane divided roadway with commerical enterprises of every type.
Businesses identified include a general store, Montrose Motors and Dixie Cream Donut Shop, followed by drive-in restaurants Morrell’s and McDonalds. The Rainbow Motel, Hank Dietle’s tavern and Wheeler’s funeral home completed the mix of old and new, until the strikingly different Congressional Shopping Center was constructed with its 4,000 car parking lot. This area of Hungerford Drive (formerly North Washington Street) developed similarly to Rockville Pike south of Town Center upon completion of Hungerford Drive in the early 1950s. The gas station at 801 Hungerford is one of the last remaining 1950s – 1960s automobile oriented buildings in Rockville. It does not appear to have any important association with a particular gasoline company, or significant person. The owners, Morton and Caroline Alper, do not appear in city directories from the 1960s and 70s, the Montgomery County Historical Society’s biography files, or obituary files. The gas station is one of the few remaining gas stations in Rockville that hasn’t been renovated or updated.
A gas station at 1910 Rockville Pike dates from 1966 and could be categorized as Neoeclectic with its stone facing and cedar shake shingled mansard roof.
Another gas station that was surveyed as part of Peerless Rockville’s Recent Past initiative is found at 1907 Veirs Mill Road.
The 1968 Veirs MIll Road gas station is constructed of brick and has vertical aluminum panels. The double shallow gable front and the tall wide brick chimneystack are reminiscent of a modern ranch house from the 1960s and 70s. Jackle and Sculli’s The Gas Station in America refers to a very similar station as “The results of ‘face-lifting’ and ‘top-hatting’: an oblong box modified in the Shell’s ‘ranch’ style”.
Both the Veirs Mill and Rockville Pike stations differ from the 801 Hungerford Station in that their architecture has more in common with popular residential architecture of the time as opposed to being distinctly a part of “Car Culture”.
A gas station in the Montgomery County crossroads of Laytonsville (21615 Laytonsville Road) is owned by G. D. Armstrong, who also owned the station at 801 Hungerford from 1997 until recently. Although the building is almost an exact duplicate of the 801 Hungerford station, it was built two years later in 1965 and was always owned by G.D. Armstrong. Mr. Charles Owen, long time resident of Laytonsville and current Mayor, said that he remembered this station as a Phillips 66 station and thought it had been there since the late 1950s or early 60s.
An archivist for the Conoco Phillips Corporation was consulted about the 801 Hungerford Drive station. Judging from a current photograph of the station, Archivist Jenny Brown stated that she believes the station type was used in the 1960s but the style looks more like a 1950s station. She sent the following photos illustrating the use of the floor to ceiling slanted glass windows.
In addition to the similarity of the slanting or canted display windows, the service garage doors have the identical two-tier horizontal panes with bottom panels. The similarities with the Laytonsville and Hungerford Drive stations extend to the buildings’ massing. The 1950s buildings depicted in the ConocoPhillips archives clearly have one principal façade – they don’t seem to be located on a corner lot. The Laytonsville and Hungerford Drive stations are located on corner lots. The corner lot prototype appears to be the same building, except for the two-bay service garage being split, with one bay being attached to the far sides of the square customer service area with the big slanted windows.
The prototype building associated with a specific business or product is sometimes referred to as franchise architecture. Part of the package purchased by individual entrepreneurs, the
architectural style helped maintain a chain identity in a highly competitive market place.
After WWII a massive franchise industry developed. Returning veterans and displaced farmers had the opportunity to realize the American dream of owning and running their own business, achieving personal and financial independence. Signature architecture became the cornerstone of the franchise business in the 1950s and early 60s. In the mid 1960s, the most successful franchise business, McDonalds, did away with signature architecture, separating the signature feature (golden arches) from the actual building. Franchise identity became portable and the buildings were more conventional and easier to recycle into other commercial uses.
The “Rockville Historic Buildings Catalog” identifies only one building associated with the roadside architecture along Rockville Pike -- a different type of a structure that also dates from the 1960s. Dixie Cream Donuts was constructed in 1965 – a rectangular 1-story building with large display windows, a pyramid roof and a small Colonial Revival style cupola vent with a pyramid roof. The building currently houses a Subway franchise. (1402 Rockville Pike), former Dixie Donuts. The building fronts a small parking area of an access road along the pike and is surrounded by other commercial real estate.
The gas station at 801 Hungerford Drive is a Phillips 66 prototype station from the 1950s and early 1960s. These “buildings as advertisement” have strong association with the franchise era and economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s. There are very few commercial buildings on Rockville Pike or in the City of Rockville that have this historic association and have not been modified. In addition, the iconic value of the “vintage” gas station has great association with America’s “car culture”.
The significance of the property is the primarily due to its building type, as opposed to its setting.
The prefabricated gas stations of this era were designed so they could be assembled easily and salvaged easily if they proved unprofitable. The design intent was not rooted to a regional culture or sense of place.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
This 1956 Chevrolet Corvette SR2 Beach Racer was specifically built for racing. It was designed by Bill Mitchell and maintained by Smokey Yunick. The car was the test bed for Rochester Fuel Injection system. It was driven on the beach at Daytona by Buick Baker. He set a class record of 152 mph. The hand built body, featuring the high fin, had other unique features. Brake air ducts were provided to cool the front brakes and side scoops as the rear brake cooling runs through the length of the car, including the doors and jambs. Two-inch off-set air ducts to the engine came via the front fenders. This 2000-pound car has 10-pound doors and a 20-pound hood. It features a 48-gallon gas tank.
Smokey Yunick stroked and bored the original 283 engine out to 336 cubic-inches. The car raced Daytona, Sebring (finished 15th overall), Nassau and was expected to run at LeMans until Chevrolet pulled out of racing in 1957.
It is said the attention the SR2 provided during this brief racing period saved the production of the Corvette.The Chevrolet Corvette SR2 was a project car designed and built by the country's largest automaker, GM. During the mid-1950s, GM had annual sales of about 13 billion which was more than some countries and twice that of the second largest company in the US, Standard Oil of new Jersey. The company was very vast, and it needed a car that showed-off its capabilities and its greatness.
The Corvette was a new automobile and still had yet to prove it racing potential. In 1955 it could be ordered with an optional V8 engine which had earned it some notoriety and respect in the automotive community.
Zora Arkus-Duntov, commonly refereed to as the father of the Corvette, was tasked creating the SR-2. He worked with Chevrolet's Chief Engineer, Ed Cole, on creating a version of the Corvette that could outrun and outpace the competition.
A modified single-seater Corvette test-bed was brought to the Daytona Speedweeks in February of 1956. Its V8 engine produced around 240 horsepower and carried the car to an average speed of 150.58 mph. A little more fine-tuning to the engine increased the horsepower to 255. The car traveled the smooth sand surface at an average speed of 147.3 mph which was nearly 15 mph faster than the Ford Thunderbird's run.
The first cars to bear the SR name were shown at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1956. It is still a mystery as to the official meaning of 'SR'; some believe its for 'Special Racing', others say its for 'Sebring Racer', while others argue its just initials. Four 'SR' cars were entered in the race, three with a 265 cubic-inch engine and one with a 307 cubic-inch unit. The 307 ci car had a newly created, and still unproven, Rochester mechanical fuel-injection system and a ZF close-ratio four-speed gearbox. It raced in the Class B category while the three other cars competed in the Class C group.
One Class C and the Class B entry retired prematurely from the race. John Fitch drove one of hte Class C cars to a very respectable 15th place finish. The other entry finished next to last. The Corvette's were still in their infancy of racing but the potential for greatness had been proven.
From there evolved the SR-2, with inspiration from Harley Earl's son, Jerry, who was head of GM styling at the time and an automotive sports car enthusiast. Construction of the SR-2 models began with a chassis very similar to the Sebring cars. The body was designed by Robert Cumberford, a GM designer at the time, and Tony Lapine using design cues and inspiration from the legendary Jaguar D-Type. The windshield panels were similar to the Sebring cars; a large fin was placed in the rear and original the cars were without a headrest which was added later in the design process.
Duntov handled some of the mechanical aspects of the car including the engine. It was similar to the Sebring cars.
Though intended for racing, it retained many of the refinements of a traditional road going car. It had a wood-rimmed steering wheel, radio, instrumentation, and even stainless steel decorative panels. This extra weight proved to be its Achilles heal when it went racing for the first time at Elkhart Lake in June of 1956. After the race, the weight was reduced. The vinyl seats were removed and replaced with lightweight Porsche Spyder seats. Non-essential components were also removed where necessary and possible.
There were a total of three SR-2 cars that would eventually be built. The second SR-2 was constructed for Bill Mitchell. Smokey Yunick prepared the engine and worked on the braking aspects of the car. Having learned valuable lessons from the first car, the second SR-2 was given lightweight materials which brought its weight down to 2300 pounds. The average stock Corvette weighed around 3,000 pounds at the time, so the decrease on the second SR-2 was rather substantial.
The Smokey Yunick tuning and weight reduction worked, and the car ran a 152.886 mph at the Daytona Speedweek in 1957.
The final SR-2 was built for GM president Harlow Curtice. This car was destined for the show circuit, and as such, did not feature many of the exotic setups as the second car. Instead, it had a bolt-on, bolt-off removable stainless steel top. There were Dayton wire wheels mounted on all four corners and the interior featured many stock Corvette pieces.
The lessons learned on the Sebring cars and fine-tuned on the SR-2 cars would quickly make their way into the production Corvettes. One of the first to make its way into the 1957 Corvettes was the four-speed gearbox and the fuel-injection system.
By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2008
Here's the Holden Efijy concept car on display at the General Motors showcase in the parking lot of the Athens Coney Island diner in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak during the 2007 Woodward Dream Cruise.
When I think of American car companies that operate in Australia, I primarily think of Ford, but GM also operates in Australia through their subsidiary, GM Holden Ltd.
The Holden Efijy is a retro-styled concept car with a design evocative of the automobiles of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially the Holden FJ (which was made in 1953; I guess Australian designers were still into curvy styles while American cars were beginning to sprout tailfins).
From Wikipedia:
Richard Ferlazzo was the designer behind the Efijy project. He began sketching the first designs in 1989. The main reason for making this car is purely for entertainment. “Invariably, people smile when they see it for the first time. Efijy is our accolade to the talented designers who cut loose with some fantastically flamboyant styling in the post-war 1940s and 1950s,” Richard Ferlazzo said. “Ask the question, ‘what would these people have created using all the skill sets and technology we have now’, and Efijy might be the all-Australian answer to that question," in relation to the original FJ designers.
The engine used is a Chevrolet 6.0 litre LS2 V8 engine that has been supercharged and modified by Ron Harrop, an ex FJ racer and well respected automotive person in Australia. The engine produces 480 kilowatts (645 bhp) and 775 newton metres (560 ft·lbf) of torque through the rear wheels.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Famed GM designer Harley Earl commissioned this 1959 Pontiac Catalina for his wife. Earl dubbed the car "The Pink Lady." (Tom Jensen photo)
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
A car with an absolutely fascinating history, built by racing legend John Fitch, whom I first met a couple years ago. Born in 1917, Fitch flew P-51 Mustangs in WWII, shooting down an Me-262. After the war, Fitch raced for Mercedes-Benz (in a 300SL at Mille Miglia) and Cunningham overseas, achieving several victories. Fitch later started a Corvair tuning shop in CT, and got the idea of creating a GT car using a Corvair chassis. He worked with artist Coby Whitmore and GM designer Robert Cumberford (now at Automobile Magazine) on the design of the car, doing testing at the nearby Lime Rock race track. Intermeccanica was originally supposed to assemble the bodies and ship them to CT. Fitch planned on building 500 cars a year, and even though the prototype was warmly received at car shows, new legislation and the demise of the Corvair severely hurt production plans.
The Phoenix weighs 2150lbs, and a has a 170hp intercooled flat six engine, with a 7.5 second sprint to 60mph, and a 130mph top speed.
Wiki article on John Fitch en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fitch_(driver)
Vauxhall experimental car from 1966 was the XVR designed by GM designer Wayne Cherry and powered by a VX 4/90 engine. It featured a wraparound windscreen/independent suspension and gull wing style doors. No idea how many were made but a bright orange model was on display at the Goodwood FOS in 2009 ?
GM designer Bill Mitchell fought for this controversial styling feature, which decreased rear visibility; it was gone for 1964, as were those two non-functional hood grilles.
The 1963 Corvette coupe and convertible were all new that year, and were the first Corvettes with independent rear suspension. Four-wheel disc brakes would not appear until 1965.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Composed entirely of a mimetic metal alloy, rendering it capable of rapid shapeshifting, near-perfect mimicry. Furthermore, it can use its ability to quickly liquify and assume forms in innovative and surprising ways.
Apps::
photoforge2, icolorama, snapseed, pstouch, #Mandelbulb
#campovisual #designattack #designerscollective #instaw0nder #hubcreative #m_innovative #editfever #mobileartistry #instacollective #rsa_graphics #royalsnappingartists #infamous_family #fxmob #ig_artistry #editjunkie #ampt_vectors #gm_designers #jj_creative #simplyportraits #ga_collective #sbe_graphics #wearejuxt #ig_aau_member #ig_portugal #pf_graphics
#mirrometry #orbometry #fractometry #fractometry_contest
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
During the collab with @thiagomb_ in the process of edit I made this! I love it so much that decided to post it!
Apps::
PhotoForge2, idesign, pstouch, snappseed, LensLight, FilterZilla, TinyPlanets, mirrorgram,
#campovisual #designattack #designerscollective #instaw0nder #hubcreative #m_innovative #editfever #mobileartistry #instacollective #rsa_graphics #royalsnappingartists #infamous_family #fxmob #ig_artistry #editjunkie #ampt_vectors #gm_designers #jj_creative #ga_collective #sbe_graphics #wearejuxt #ig_aau_member #ig_portugal #pf_graphics #amselcom
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 1963 Showcar (S.O. 10323)
Some Corvettes are more equal than others. This is one of the most 'equal'. The paired sister car of the 1963 Chicago Motorshow, this Corvette was a retirement present for legendary GM designer Harley Earl (S.O. 10323). Featuring many features seen in later production 'Vettes. This Stingray features two-tone paint, exposed side pipes, and an upgraded, fuel-injected 327 cid V8.
Built for LUGnuts February 2010 Challenge - Animal Kingdom, this Corvette is both Ray-like and Stingy. A fitting automotive reflection of a truely remarkable creature.