Dream Cars: A vision of future past

@ YAHOO AUTOS

 

 It wasn't long after the invention of "styling" for cars in the early 20th century that designers and engineers began building what-if versions, rolling canvases of ideas that range from the realistic to the fanciful. The High Museum of Art Atlanta has collected a bevy of pure concept cars from the past 80 years for its "Dream Cars" exhibition, offering a vision of the future that's forever in progress.

 

 



          Norman Timbs Special                

 

While it was billed simply as a home-built roadster when it graced the cover of Motor Trend in 1949, Norman Timbs' creation has since been heralded as one of the great custom vehicles of the age, which cost him $10,000 to construct.

 

                                                 Tasco

 

Gordon Buehrig already owned a seat in the car designers' parthenon thanks to his work on the Cord 810 and Duesenberg Model J. The Tasco — an acronym for The American Sports Car Company — offered several further innovations, like fenders that turned with the wheels.

 

                                              Tasco

 

Buehrig with a model of the Tasco

 

            

                             Stout Scarab                

A 1930s idea of a minivan, William Stout's Scarab had a multitude of revolutionary ideas – from seats that converted into sofas to a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive design

 

                                        Electriuqe, 1942

The three-wheeled L'Œuf électrique ("electric egg") was created by French artist, industrial designer, and engineer Paul Arzens in 1942 as a unique car for his personal use during World War II, and in many ways foretold the tiny electric cars still being experimented with today.

 

                                           General Motors Le Sabre XP-8                



In many ways the Le Sabre XP-8 became the embodiment of the Harley Earl era at General Motors following World War II — daring, fast and technologically advanced. The "dagmars" on the bumper would show up in the great Tri-Five ChevFerrari

 

                          Ferrari (Pininfarina) 512 S Modulo

 

Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 1970, the Modulo was the extreme example of the era's obsession with aerodynamic wedges. The Modulo seated two in a single-file row, and was only 37 inches tall. 

 

                                     Lancia (Bertone) Stratos HF Zero                

 

Lancia (Bertone) Stratos HF Zero, 1970. Similar to the Modulo, but three inches shorter, the only way to enter the HF Zero was to open the windshield, since it held no doors.

 

                       

                      General Motors Firebird XP-21, 1953          

Designed to showcase the potential of the turbine engine for cars, the Firebird's resemblence to a jet fighter only heightened its appeal.

 

 

                

                                                   Chrysler Ghia Streamline
 

 Chrysler (Ghia) Streamline X "Gilda," 1955. Designed by Giovanni Savonuzzi and Virgil M. Exner, the Ghia was Chrysler's nod to the aeronautical obsessions of the '50s. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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