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Curbside Classics Archives
Concept Car Archive
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![(first posted 8/3/2013) Virgil Exner’s disappointment over his 1955 Chrysler Falcon two-seater not being green-lighted for production was deep and lasting. He loved sports cars, and was an enthusiastic and […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Exner-XNR-concept-profile-1024x640.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept Classic: 1960 Plymouth XNR – Exner’s Hot Slant-Six Corvette Fighter That Almost Got Built")
Concept Classic: 1960 Plymouth XNR – Exner’s Hot Slant-Six Corvette Fighter That Almost Got Built
Posted on March 11, 2024 | 51 Comments(first posted 8/3/2013) Virgil Exner’s disappointment over his 1955 Chrysler Falcon two-seater not being green-lighted for production was deep and lasting. He loved sports cars, and was an enthusiastic and […] -
![(first posted 10/21/2017) GM’s 1950s Motorama-mobiles were mostly pretty out-there, with flamboyant fins, rocket-inspired skegs and cockpits, and other flights of wild imagination. Frankly, many of them […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Chevrolet-1955-Biscayne-.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept Classic: 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne (XP-37)- Chuck Jordan’s Motorama-mobile Had A Better Rear End Than Front End")
Concept Classic: 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne (XP-37)- Chuck Jordan’s Motorama-mobile Had A Better Rear End Than Front End
Posted on October 21, 2023 | 85 Comments(first posted 10/21/2017) GM’s 1950s Motorama-mobiles were mostly pretty out-there, with flamboyant fins, rocket-inspired skegs and cockpits, and other flights of wild imagination. Frankly, many of them […] -
![(First posted 4/16/2013. This post includes some excellent commentary and insight into the situation at Studebaker regarding the Sceptre and other plans during these final years from Studebaker historian Rob […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Studebaker-Sceptre-fq.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept Classic: Studebaker Sceptre – The Thunderbird From South Bend")
Concept Classic: Studebaker Sceptre – The Thunderbird From South Bend
Posted on October 16, 2023 | 90 Comments(First posted 4/16/2013. This post includes some excellent commentary and insight into the situation at Studebaker regarding the Sceptre and other plans during these final years from Studebaker historian Rob […] -
![If there’s a city meant to have a large temple devoted to automotive history, that is car-crazy Los Angeles. And that obligatory shrine is none other than the Petersen Automotive […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_1934.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "CC Museum Visit: Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles – Detroit Dream Cars and Automotive Icons")
CC Museum Visit: Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles – Detroit Dream Cars and Automotive Icons
Posted on September 1, 2023 | 17 CommentsIf there’s a city meant to have a large temple devoted to automotive history, that is car-crazy Los Angeles. And that obligatory shrine is none other than the Petersen Automotive […] -
![I would not blame you for thinking this was an AI-generated image, as it’s a bit hard to imagine that front end being “real”. But real it is; all too […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/1954_Packard_PantherDaytonaRoadster2.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage What If? 1954 Packard Panther – No, It’s Real, Not AI-Generated, And Powered By A Supercharged Flathead Straight Eight")
Vintage What If? 1954 Packard Panther – No, It’s Real, Not AI-Generated, And Powered By A Supercharged Flathead Straight Eight
Posted on May 17, 2023 | 24 CommentsI would not blame you for thinking this was an AI-generated image, as it’s a bit hard to imagine that front end being “real”. But real it is; all too […] -
![(first posted 4/12/2013) The revolutionary Datsun 240Z (CC here) had a long and somewhat tortuous development process. Albrecht Goertz was a consultant to Nissan, and the results of his early […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Datsun-240Z-proposal-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept Classic (And Video): Datsun 240Z Design Proposal: Just One Milestone Of A Long Process")
Concept Classic (And Video): Datsun 240Z Design Proposal: Just One Milestone Of A Long Process
Posted on September 17, 2022 | 20 Comments(first posted 4/12/2013) The revolutionary Datsun 240Z (CC here) had a long and somewhat tortuous development process. Albrecht Goertz was a consultant to Nissan, and the results of his early […] -
![I’ve seen pictures before of Loewy’s BMW 507 Coupe that he designed and had built for himself, but they were invariably in profile or from the rear. When I came […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Loewy-507-f.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Design Milestone: Raymond Loewy’s 1957 BMW 507 Coupe – Ahead Of Its Time In At Least One Key Way")
Design Milestone: Raymond Loewy’s 1957 BMW 507 Coupe – Ahead Of Its Time In At Least One Key Way
Posted on August 28, 2021 | 46 CommentsI’ve seen pictures before of Loewy’s BMW 507 Coupe that he designed and had built for himself, but they were invariably in profile or from the rear. When I came […] -
![The rear engine Corvair wasn’t exactly GM’s first foray into the mysteries of rear engine cars. There were a number of experiments, and the 1949 Corsair concept, although only a […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GM-Corsair-top.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "GM’s 1949 Corsair – A Tatra-Style Rear Engine Streamliner Ten Years Before The Corvair")
GM’s 1949 Corsair – A Tatra-Style Rear Engine Streamliner Ten Years Before The Corvair
Posted on April 26, 2021 | 8 CommentsThe rear engine Corvair wasn’t exactly GM’s first foray into the mysteries of rear engine cars. There were a number of experiments, and the 1949 Corsair concept, although only a […] -
![I hadn’t seen this ’61 Chevy Impala clay before, and it’s quite intriguing. The front end is just like how it ended up, but from the middle back, it’s a […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/chevrolet-1961-impala-concept.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept Classic: The 1961 Chevy Impala Coupe That Wasn’t")
Concept Classic: The 1961 Chevy Impala Coupe That Wasn’t
Posted on May 31, 2020 | 24 CommentsI hadn’t seen this ’61 Chevy Impala clay before, and it’s quite intriguing. The front end is just like how it ended up, but from the middle back, it’s a […] -
![(first posted 7/12/2013) In 1967 I was fourteen, and perhaps one of the earlier exponents of the eighties’ teenage tradition of having a Lamborghini pinup on my bedroom wall. […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Lamborghini-_Marzal_1967.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept Classic: Lamborghini Marzal – The Espada’s Inspiration And My Heartthrob Of 1967")
Concept Classic: Lamborghini Marzal – The Espada’s Inspiration And My Heartthrob Of 1967
Posted on May 5, 2019 | 36 Comments(first posted 7/12/2013) In 1967 I was fourteen, and perhaps one of the earlier exponents of the eighties’ teenage tradition of having a Lamborghini pinup on my bedroom wall. […] -
![Will we ever see a modern two door car in Ford’s lineup not named Mustang? Probably not, especially considering the current sales plight of the four door sedan. Thirty years […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/00E0E_go1HOZLLCBm_1200x900.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "craigslist Find: 1989 Mercury Sable Two Door Convertible Concept – A Fantasy That Would Never Become A Reality, Thanks To The Mustang")
craigslist Find: 1989 Mercury Sable Two Door Convertible Concept – A Fantasy That Would Never Become A Reality, Thanks To The Mustang
Posted on March 21, 2018 | 44 CommentsWill we ever see a modern two door car in Ford’s lineup not named Mustang? Probably not, especially considering the current sales plight of the four door sedan. Thirty years […] -
![We’re such suckers! Here we thought we had this 1976 GM Mystery Concept all figured out. I accepted Jim Cavanaugh’s rational deduction/guess of a design concept for the upcoming gen2 […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GM3.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "The Mystery Concept Is More Mysterious Than Ever – We May Never Know Exactly What It Is")
The Mystery Concept Is More Mysterious Than Ever – We May Never Know Exactly What It Is
Posted on October 17, 2017 | 93 CommentsWe’re such suckers! Here we thought we had this 1976 GM Mystery Concept all figured out. I accepted Jim Cavanaugh’s rational deduction/guess of a design concept for the upcoming gen2 […] -
![The setting is GM’s Design Center, almost certainly. The Chevy concept is a clay (or possibly fiberglass), based on the rigid supports visible under the body. Its rear quarter evokes […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Chevy-II-concept-1962-perhaps.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept QOTD: Is It A Big Golf Cart or Something To Drive To The Golf Course?")
Concept QOTD: Is It A Big Golf Cart or Something To Drive To The Golf Course?
Posted on October 14, 2017 | 29 CommentsThe setting is GM’s Design Center, almost certainly. The Chevy concept is a clay (or possibly fiberglass), based on the rigid supports visible under the body. Its rear quarter evokes […] -
![If GM could redo its history, here’s one of very many decisions they’d undoubtedly do differently: to not put this FWD X Car-based minivan concept into production in 1980, a […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Chevrolet-1979-Nomad-_II_Concept_Minivan.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept Outtake: 1979 Chevrolet Nomad II – GM Shoulda Woulda Coulda Been the FWD Minivan Pioneer")
Concept Outtake: 1979 Chevrolet Nomad II – GM Shoulda Woulda Coulda Been the FWD Minivan Pioneer
Posted on October 13, 2017 | 91 CommentsIf GM could redo its history, here’s one of very many decisions they’d undoubtedly do differently: to not put this FWD X Car-based minivan concept into production in 1980, a […] -
![Since we’re on the subject of Mustangs, and their design influence, let’s go back to 1962 or so, and see how the design development program for it changed rather abruptly […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Mustang-1962-Allegro-Design-Study-17-Ford-Mustang-Concepts.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept Outake: How The ’61 Continental Influenced the 1964 Mustang’s Styling")
Concept Outake: How The ’61 Continental Influenced the 1964 Mustang’s Styling
Posted on October 12, 2017 | 15 CommentsSince we’re on the subject of Mustangs, and their design influence, let’s go back to 1962 or so, and see how the design development program for it changed rather abruptly […]
