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The Astral made its debut in 1957 at the South Bend Art Center, then was shown again at the Geneva Motor Show. This car went all out with its sci-fi styling. The entire car was balanced on one wheel using gyroscope technology and it was said to hover over water. To protect the driver and their passengers from radiation, the Astral would have been equipped with some kind of protective energy curtain, like a forcefield, that would make collisions impossible and certainly make the Astral's ionic nuclear engine seem a bit more reasonable. Studebaker-Packard didn't last long enough to see the wild future in which this car could be produced, as Packard itself disappeared a few years after the Astral was released, followed close behind by Studebaker. The concept car was shuttled from auto shows to dealership events before finally finding a home along with its more practical brothers at the Petersen Auto Museum in Los Angeles, CA.
Source: Autoblog
