The Studebaker Manta Ray was a one-off custom car built by Glen Hire and Vernon Antoine of Whittier, California, in 1952. Assembled with fiberglass molds inspired by 1950s aeronautical design, it was unlike anything else on the road, with a turbine-shaped center grille and three rear fins. Unfortunately, it was never produced. The only example is for sale through Mecum in Monterey this week.
This car is not a modified 1934 Ford Roadster. The truth is that it looks like it, but its lines could not be more different. It is a Soviet GAZ GL-1, a car specially created by GAZ to break speed records, under orders from the Politburo and the highest levels of the Communist Party. Because? Because in 1938 – in a race organized in the center of Moscow – one of the Russian riders competed with an American Kord 812, reaching a speed of 141.56 km/h. A figure close to the Soviet speed record. Evil tongues say that Stalin himself banned competition with foreign vehicles on the same day. The GL-1 project was born a few weeks later, seeking to demonstrate that the USSR could also manufacture fast cars.
1939 ZIS 101A Russian Sport was the sports variant of the ZIS 101 limousine, a vehicle produced in Russian lands. This limousine was released in the period 1936-1941, while the sports version had to wait until 1939. It was inspired by a well-known American vehicle from the manufacturer Packard of the same era. It was designed and produced to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a Soviet youth political organization called Komsomol, which defined itself as the youth division of the Communist Party. This project was supported by Stalin himself, but, unfortunately, shortly after the celebration the project fell into abandonment and oblivion.
The Charger III, the most aerodynamic vehicle conceived and built by Dodge, is an experimental two-seater just 42 inches high, 184 inches long and 73 inches wide. Features include jet-style canopy, fold-down steering wheel, lift-up bucket seats, and spoiler-style air brake fins. Dual air intakes on the hood supplement the air entering the engine compartment through the grille. Side air intakes push cooling air to the rear brakes. The Charger III, Dodge Division's experimental sports car, which contains many of the gauges and instruments found in the passenger version of the 1968 Charger, is touring auto shows across the country. The low-slung red "Candy Apple" two-seater is just 3 1/2 feet tall.
The Dart and the 400 HP Superdar is one of the most important post-war Ghia show cars and the only Dart series car remaining in completely original, unrestored and unmodified condition. Created by Ghia for Chrysler in 1957 specifically to be shown for the first time at the 1957 Turin Motor Show on the Ghia stand. The bodywork of this car is extremely elegant yet fast and futuristic, and is very reminiscent of the Gilda dream car from which it is derived. The two Ghia Dart series cars and the Gilda were undoubtedly what inspired Virgil Exner and his “future vision” for the Chrysler designs that would soon follow the introduction of these Ghia designs. Inside the Superdart, it has a very fine custom Italian feel with 4 black and white leather bucket seats, large round gauges that Ghia knew.
All Franklin cars were air-cooled, which the company considered simpler and more reliable than water cooling, and that light weight was critical to making a good-performing car given the limited engine power available at the time. Most Franklin's were wood-framed, although the first used an angle iron frame (1902) and, from 1928, heavier cars adopted a conventional pressed steel frame. Lightweight aluminum was used in quantity, to the point that Franklin was considered to be the world's largest user of aluminum in the company's early years.
Plymouth is no more. And even in the heyday of Detroit manufacturing in the 1960s, the concept cars that were lucky enough to escape the crusher didn't always stick around for posterity to enjoy someday. However, the 1964 Satellite II did, surviving nearly sixty years on a winding road that has now left it in the care of a lifelong Mopar obsessive.
The Delahaye Type 175 is a luxury, custom-built, coachbuilt automobile manufactured by the French automotive products manufacturer Delahaye. Production figures were formally recorded from early 1948 to mid-1951, validating that 107 cars were built.
The story begins, as many romances do, in France. In many ways, however, it is an American story. The story of two immigrants, Emmett Hardnock and Armand Minasian. It is a story full of excitement, the creative energy of the early automobile age, and a story of our time, our casual happenings and hard research.
Philippe Barraud, son of William Barraud and nephew of William's brother Maurice, both wealthy Swiss industrialists who had "built" their fortune on red bricks and tiles, ordered the chassis from Detroit through Edelweiss Garage, the local Cadillac dealership in Morges, next to Lausanne (Switzerland).