Photos from the Day
Photos of showcars and studio shots from the day found online from anonymous sources. Most are labeled. Some probably incorrectly. More to come.
I remember reading in car magazines about Chevrolet’s answer to the Mustang being code named Panther, but all that was in the magazines were illustrations to whet the appetite, but no photos. Well, included are a couple of photos, some 53 years later.
I read that the top had to be removed and the models had to be lowered into the FX-Atmos because it had no doors. Not sure what the skewers were for, but they look cool. And everybody knows that the Futura was made into the Bat Mobile.
Some exceptional surfacing on several of the models. The Firebird IV and the Astro III in particular.
Interesting. More photos! This series has been informative, educational and more. I recognize a lot of those concepts and what they became as well. I see Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac. I see the Lincoln Futura which was the basis for the 1960’s Batmobile. This has been appreciated. I hope the series continues.
Again a nice collection. Keep them coming.
That ’59 Buick clay is obscenely ugly. I hope whoever designed that monstrosity ended up a WalMart greeter.
The July 1966 issue of Motor Trend had a fuzzy preview photo of the “Panther”, along with photos of the new Thunderbird
The evolution of what would become the Camaro is interesting. Not sure if the ’66 Caprice style quarter windows is a good look or not, but obviously they were decided against. Very cool to see cars from concept to finished design.
Some wonderful shots here. The picture of the 1959 Pininfarina-Mitchell Sting Ray Racer is interesting, both for the bow tie Bill Mitchell is sporting which is not something I had seen him wear before, and also the white-haired man in the passenger seat who I assume is a GM corporate exec but whom I cannot ID for certain. It is fascinating to see the towering Harley Earl in the Club de Mer picture, and the shot of the 1963 Chevrolet studio with the clays in the middle of the room is a wonderful wide-angle view of what work life looked like for those GM designers back then. Great stuff!
Hi Greg I believe the white haired man is Sergio Pininfarina himself.
John V.
Sorry, I should have said Battista Pininfarina after looking at online photos, not Sergio.
Photo 36 is from Studebaker studios around 1955 for a 1958ish Studebaker or Packard; not sure which. It’s documented among Studebaker legions.
Donald, photo #36 of Studebakers was of a Senior President model they hoped to have the money for to build aroun `56 or so. Clay was done in `54. You should see the front end; it really was a gorgeous car! Too bad the coffers were dry.
Picture 36 was a styling study for a 1955 Studebaker.