Turquoise cars and trucks are most strongly associated with the 1950s — we’ve all seen cheerful two-tone Chevrolet Bel Air hardtops in Tropical Turquoise over India Ivory — but turquoise remained a popular automotive color for almost another 20 years. Here’s a selection of 1960s cars and trucks in different shades of turquoise.
We begin with the C1 Corvette, which was a ’50s design and lent itself well to basically ’50s colors like this Tasco Turquoise, which is pastel rather than the metallic shades that became popular in the ’60s. However, most 1960 Corvette buyers ordered Ermine White, Roman Red, or Tuxedo Black. Of the 10,261 Corvette convertibles built for 1960, only 635 were Tasco Turquoise, and only 383 combined a turquoise body with white coves.
The detachable hardtop, a $236.75 option, was quite common: It was ordered on 5,147 Corvettes for 1960, about half of production, and was available in any body color. Note that while this car has wheel covers, Corvette wheels were normally painted to match the body, so they’re turquoise as well.
The turquoise exterior could be combined with either black or turquoise vinyl upholstery.
From this angle, you can see some resemblance between this 1961 Lincoln Continental and the 1961 Ford Thunderbird (below), which was no coincidence — the Continental design began as a proposal for the 1961 Thunderbird, and the two cars (which were both built in the same Wixom Assembly plant) shared quite a bit of structural commonality.
Both the T-Bird and the Continental offered turquoise metallic paint for 1961, although the Garden Turquoise available on the “Bullet Bird” was a darker shade than Lincoln’s Regency Turquoise.
The Continental adopted clap-handle doors for easier entry and exit with the close-coupled proportions, so it was initially offered only as a four-door sedan and the only factory four-door convertible sedan since the 1949–1950 Kaiser Deluxe. According to the listing, this one’s power top wasn’t working when these pictures were taken.
Ordering a turquoise exterior usually at least gave you the option of specifying a matching turquoise interior. The Continental’s optional leather upholstery looks awfully good in that color.
Cadillac hadn’t offered a convertible sedan since 1941, but it did no harm to their sales. They built 16,800 Series 62 convertibles for 1962, plus an additional 1,450 Eldorado Biarritz convertibles.
Turquoise was a fairly popular Cadillac color in this period, ordered on 5.6 percent of 1962 production (tied for 6th most popular color out of a long list of choices) and 7.7 percent of 1963 cars (the 4th most popular choice).
Although this convertible’s leather upholstery isn’t turquoise, you could still get turquoise leather on a Cadillac of this vintage by special order. I previously found a turquoise 1963 Series 62 convertible with turquoise and white leather.
The Comet S-22 was the Mercury equivalent of the Ford Falcon Futura (or, more to the point, the Chevrolet Corvair Monza), a sporty compact offered in two-door sedan, convertible, or hardtop forms.
Mercury actually offered two shades of turquoise on the Comet for 1963: this Peacock Turquoise and a darker metallic color called Ocean Turquoise.
The S-22 included the obligatory bucket seats, which could be ordered in this two-tone turquoise ensemble. (I would call the bolsters “dark blue” rather than turquoise, but Lincoln-Mercury called this Medium Turquoise.)
In 1964, the Plymouth Fury line was still in the final throes of Chrysler Corporation’s 1962 downsizing program, so the sedans, hardtops, and convertible were noticeably smaller than other contemporary full-size cars. The wagons were 5 inches longer overall than the others, albeit still on a shorter-than-usual 116-inch wheelbase and still rather eccentrically styled.
There was lots of interesting detail, but the Fury wagon was a rather strange-looking beast. However, the metallic turquoise paint is tasteful and restrained.
This Fury wagon not only has two-tone turquoise upholstery (and air conditioning), but also a rare 4-speed manual transmission to go with its Commando 383 engine, four-barrel carburetor, and dual exhausts. Only 4.1 percent of full-size Plymouths had 4-speed stick shift in 1964, and I don’t imagine many of those were station wagons.
There are some design/color combinations that perfectly epitomize the aesthetic sensibilities of their era, and the second-generation Corvair in Artesian Turquoise is one of those — even if you didn’t know what it was, you could guess when it was from. Ironically, the second-generation Corvair wasn’t a big hit even at launch (it arrived almost a year before the publication of Ralph Nader’s Unsafe at Any Speed), unable to compete with the Mustang, but it’s still a lovely piece of work.
As with the 1963 Comet, the 1965 Corvair was offered in two shades of turquoise: this Artesian Turquoise (which Chevrolet described generically as “medium aqua”) and a darker Tahitian Turquoise, which was rarer. Silver paint on the cove around the taillights was the main telltale of the top-line Corsa series.
This Corsa has a black vinyl interior, which isn’t too exciting, but it also has the rare optional turbocharged engine, which Chevrolet rated at 180 gross horsepower in 1965–1966.
Speaking of the Mustang … As much as Ford has fixated on the Mustang fastback as the template for modern Mustang design, it was the hardtop that most people bought, and it’s easy to see why. When these cars first debuted, a lot of car magazine critics sort of sneered at the styling of the Mustang hardtop, dismissing it as basically old-fashioned, but the first-generation Mustang wins points for its well-considered proportions: It looks good from any angle, a difficult trick.
Personally, I could do without this car’s optional vinyl roof, but this turquoise hardtop GT is otherwise pretty close to what I would consider peak first-gen Mustang, with front disc brakes, special handling package, styled wheels, and the A-code (225 hp four-barrel 289) engine with C4 Cruise-O-Matic.
It also has the Interior Decor Option, commonly known as the “Pony” interior because of the embossed Mustang designs in the seat backs, with aqua-and-white luxury trim to go with the turquoise exterior.
Shifting over to the Ford truck line, we have this two-tone 1967 Ford F-Series 4WD pickup, which was originally ordered with the 352 engine and New Process 4-speed manual transmission. It has since traded its original engine for a 390-4V, also adding power steering and front discs.
According to the Marti Report for this truck, this turquoise/white combination was quite rare: This is one of only 46 1967 F-100 4×4 trucks ordered with those paint codes. It was also ordered with the optional heavy-duty rear springs, which I assume is why it’s riding so high in back with no load in the bed.
The doors and dash are painted to match the exterior. Grilles under the dash are for a Vintage Air aftermarket air conditioning system; this truck was ordered with a fresh-air heater, but not A/C.
It says a lot about American cars of this era that this dramatically styled Oldsmobile Delmont 88 two-door hardtop was a base model: the second-cheapest version (after the four-door Town Sedan) of the least-expensive full-size Olds you could buy in 1968. Its Ocean Turquoise metallic paint seems more like something you’d expect to find on a Toronado. (I found a 1968 Toronado in the same color.)
Love it or hate it, there was certainly a lot of it. However, one consequence of the swoopy semi-fastback roofline was that the $110.59 vinyl top looked very badly integrated — it had no clear relationship with the lines of the roof, a common problem with vinyl roofs on fastbacks.
The Delmont 88 was available with turquoise Morrocceen (expanded vinyl) interior, although on the Holiday Coupe, getting turquoise required the $126.38 Custom Interior option.
Finally, we have a 1969 Charger Daytona, festooned with aerodynamic add-ons and painted Q5 Bright Turquoise, which is probably the least-loud aspect of this highly conspicuous car.
This car has a 440-4V engine, TorqueFlite, and the A32 Super Performance Axle Package. It’s a serious collector’s item: It sold for $387,750 at Mecum Kisssimmee in 2023.
The Charger was available with a blue vinyl interior in 1969, but that couldn’t be combined with the Bright Turquoise exterior, which was offered only with white or black interior trim.
We tend to think of the 1970s as a decade of earth tones (so many bilious browns, oranges, and mustard yellows), but turquoise and aqua remained optional in many car lines throughout much of the decade. I’ll leave you with just one: this striking metallic turquoise 1970 Caprice four-door hardtop.
It even has a suitable matching turquoise interior, trim code 845.
Bearing in mind that many of these cars have been repainted or restored (matching vintage colors with modern paints is still more of an art than a science), my guiding principle in this post was that if the manufacturer called a color “turquoise,” so did I. So, if you want to argue that some of the colors pictured here should really be called aquamarine or even just metallic blue, I refer you back to GM, Chrysler, and Ford!
Related Reading
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My 62 Dodge D 200 is wearing its factory Desert Turquoise and the color receives quite a few comments in parking lots or the gas station.
Even for a 1969 car, the whitewalls on the Charger Daytona are just wrong.
In the 1990s they tried Aqua/Turquoise again, mostly on smaller and sporty cars.
Every few decades colors like this come back for a while, but a few years later when carmakers get feedback from their partner dealers and finance companies having to resell tradeins and lease returns, they suddenly vanish.
The guess is what are today’s hot colors that will be tomorrow’s sales-lot glue.
The flat colors (cement, Khaki) the superman blues, the baby-vomit colors, various oranges, robin’s egg blue.
The big ’90s craze was Teal, which was extremely common — not just on cars. (Restaurant seats and bus upholstery would also be teal, often with some kind of whimsical pattern.)
I’ve always loved turquoise. To me every one of these cars pictured looks great in it. I’ve owned two turquoise cars, the newest being my 2010 Camaro that I ordered in Aqua blue Metallic. The one I still own is my 69 Impala, painted in it’s original Azure Turquoise with white top and turquoise interior.
Nice car. I love turquoise cars. The 70 Caprice shown could pass for the 70 Impala that I had except for the wheel covers. Great cars.
Two cars in my family history were turquoise inside and out, both represented here, just different model years. Dad had a ’64 Continental sedan in metallic turquoise with the matching metallic turquoise leather. His dad had a ’65 Plymouth Belvedere, metallic turquoise with turquoise cloth interior. What sold grandpa on the Belvedere was it was basically the ’64 Fury at a lower price.
My first car was a well-worn 1964 Mercury Comet; handed down from my grandfather to my father, then from my father to me. Based on a review of the paint charts, the official color was Silver Turquoise.
It was a strikingly pretty color when the Comet was new, but after extended exposure to salt and sun without being garaged or waxed, the paint degraded and was rough and chalky (along with the typical rust seen on Fords of the era) by the time that I inherited it.
My Mother had a turquoise 1970 Malibu coupe with a black vinyl top 307 Powerslide. The cars I see around today such as the 1970 Caprice appear a bit darker than Moms car, maybe it was faded as we had the car till 1981. Pretty sure ’70 was the last model year one could obtain a Chevrolet in that color. Thanks for the article on COLOR , something sorely missing in modern vehicles! Although I do see a glimmer of hope here and there.
An enjoyable gallery; Stephanie in particular really liked it. You picked cars that really show off this color to their best advantage.
As to the rarity of the 4×4 F100 sporting that particular two-tone paint combo, I am not surprised as very much unlike today, back then a 4×4 pickup was almost invariably a serious work truck. All the ones I ever saw at Towson Ford were single color with standard cab trim. But obviously there were exceptions, like this and the other 46.
Yes, the ’62-’65 Plymouth and Dodge wagons were a bit unusual, the very last vestige of Exner odd-ball styling by 1965. II was not thrilled with my father’s choice of a ’65 Coronet wagon; compared to a GM A-body wagon it looked quite goofy and out of date, especially from the rear.
Count me as another avid fan of turquoise cars! That color remained a regular (if increasingly unpopular) choice through the end of the 60s. My 66 Fury III had a turquoise interior but I have somehow never owned a car with turquoise paint.
According to my own observation around New York and LA regions, white color vehicle is the most common color today, others are black, blue, silver and grey. Basically we have very few choices of colors to choose from. Also, Torquoise color seems difficult to fit in today’s popular vehicles RAV4, F150, Jeep Grand Cherokee, High Lander, X5.
I would love to have that F-100. It was quite common back in the day to pitch the 352/360 for a more muscular version of the FE. I knew a guy who had a 425HP 427 in his ’71 F-250 4×4!
My dad’s 1970 Pontiac Strato Chief was turquoise. The poor quality GM lacquer paint meant that it oxidised quite early, looking all chalky and dull.
Other than red, Turquoise is my favorite color so thanks for posting these pictures.
I was age four, my parents bought matching turquoise and white 1955 Olds ’98’s, a ’98’ two door Holiday hardtop for Dad, a Starfire convertible for Mom. About the same time we bought a beautiful mid-century hillside home in California, also painted white with turquoise trim. Later, Mom bought a new 1960 T-Bird convertible, white with turquoise interior.
To this day I love turquoise.
Like the “70, Chevy”. The wheel covers though; not so much. The “Fury”, wagon wears the color well. The inside of the “Lincoln” doesn’t work.
A lovely spread of colour, Aaron.
I smiled at your disclaimer about what was turquoise as opposed to aquamarine or metallic blue – I had been about to ask that very question! Often (to my eyes) it seems they use the word as a high-dollar substitute for plain old low-rent Blue.
Sometimes their colour names really make you wonder, though. I guess the ‘namer’ must have some association in mind which is lost on the rest of us, or lost with the passing of time. It’s telling that the ’62 Cadillac’s colour is simply called Turquoise; no further descriptor needed.
For 1963, Cadillac replaced it with “Torino Turquoise,” which was not the same shade.
That was one reason for the marketing names: Automakers would offer distinctly different shades of the same color, sometimes concurrently and often in adjacent model years. If you have two shades of turquoise AND three other shades of blue, you have to call them something.
This is my Ocean Mist ‘66 Olds Toronado. At car shows and cruise nights the first reaction I almost always receive is a compliment on the color and question its originality. People forget (or weren’t around yet) that this was a popular shade in the mid-sixties. I was very fortunate to find a low mileage, all original ‘66 Toronado in my first choice of color!
That cover pic reminds me of how much I overlook Oldsmobiles to my own detriment. Very clean styling, plus I love turquoise almost as much as I love orchid. Hard to pick a favourite body from this beautiful array..
My father’s 1967 Calais 4-door pillared hardtop replaced his 1964 Pontiac Catalina 2-door hardtop, with the Ventura trim option. To my first-grader mind both seemed to be about the same color. My mother referred to both as turquois. Other than color, and both being GM products, they were as dissimilar in my mind as two automobiles could be.
Though the Calais was Cadillac’s “entry level” model this particular one was well optioned including AM-FM radio with power antenna (how neat!). Dad must have really liked the Cadillac; he kept it longer than any other car to that date. He loved to load up for two-week trips “out west” for which the car was well suited. He even drove it to the “summit” of Pikes Peak. I thought my mother was going to rip the armrest right off the passenger door.
Another lover of turquoise here. Love all these, especially with a matching interior. I didn’t expect a Daytona in this line up, but my favourite is the Corvair, especially with those Hot Wheels wheel covers.
Lots of nice cars here which attract my attention and desire like the Corvair, Mustang, and F100. Yet when I really get down to it the 64 Fury wagon is the ONE.
My mother had 2 different shades of turquoise for her Chevy Bel Airs in the 60s. The 1967 model’s color was called Emerald Turquoise, shown below (not her actual car but very similar). The 1961 model’s color was darker and bluer, but still a shade of turquoise.
Then she reprised the color again with a 1993 Mercury Sable.
One of my co-workers at a high school job bought one of the first 65 Mustangs in northern Indiana – in Tropical Turquoise with black interior. Very attention-grabbing car, especially with her, a young woman with flame red hair, behind the wheel. In December 1966 my cousin got a new 67 Mustang (factory ordered) in Frost Turquoise, pretty much the same color IIRC. Wish I had pictures. There also were many Mustangs in the metallic turquoise (that you identify as Tahoe Turquoise) in our area. It seemed like these were fairly popular Mustang colors, or perhaps it is just that there were so many Mustangs purchased in those years that even a small number in shades of turquoise seemed like a lot. Miss all of the colors on cars.
It is not widely known that turquoise is from the Latin meaning “anything that’s not actually brown.”
And some of the non-brown variations here aren’t lovely: the ’63 Comet looks like it was painted where they painted ’60’s plastic egg cups, and is an unseemly shade for any car beyond the scale of, say, a Goggomobil Dart.
On the other hand, the color on that ’65 Corvair surely looks so tropical-sea inviting that I might crack my head in trying to dive in. That shade, to me, is what turquoise should be.
We shall not see their cheerful like again. Moderns are too chunked up to wear it, and generally too serious besides. Draped over Detroit’s finest era for styling, entirely unserious about safety, stretched beneath spindly pillars and sharp-defined panels, bejeweled around the edges by sparkly chrome, it will only ever be of its time, and good enough to serve as a summer dessert.
Yet another reminder that I really, really need a 1962 Cadillac convertible.
Love that Toronado. Pretty much any GM mid sixties car looked great in that color, especially the first generation Firebird.
Boy that turquoise on the ’65 Mustang is a hit! Love the interior. The ’65/’66 Mustang, especially in fastback form, are some of my all-time favorite cars.
As always, a good and thorough post.
Great color on almost any car from 50’s to …70’s?.
That F100 looks more ‘Blue’ to me than Turquoise. (couple of the others do as well now that I relook., Def that F100 though).
~T
Describing my father’s ’67 Cadillac yesterday I completely overlooked MY favorite “turquois” automobile that once resided in my garage. It was a 1994 Mercede-Benz E320 4-door sedan. The actual name given the upper color is Beryl, like the stone (color code 888 – a lucky number in some cultures). The interior leather was parchment. My daughter and I are posing in front of the car at the beginning of a local M-B Club event back in the day. Why we had name tags I’ll never understand. We all knew each other by sight as well as which car belonged to whom. Perhaps it was for the benefit of any new members.
I like turquoise.
My mom’s Ford Focus is a turquoise, yet it was sold under another name.