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The 1963 Wedge Corvette split windshield concept was a sleek, front-engine design study that revived the Q Corvette’s split-windshield gullwing-style doors with a short, bobbed tail. Late in 1963, a GM Styling team under Henry Haga prepared this future Corvette proposal. Its sophisticated lines included side-mounted exhaust pipes. The design also had doors that swung up and forward around the center pillar of the windshield. Source: Bill Bowman, wiki.gmnext.com; Mario van Ginneken - www.corvettes.nl Images: www.corvettes.nl

Pininfarina built the Corvette Rondine show car on a production 1963 Sting Ray chassis. Two rooflines were tried: an inward slanting rear window with the roof cut off at the B-pillar and a sloping rear window. The car was designed by Tom Tjaarda, the Michigan native who had worked for an Italian carrozzerie since 1959. When many manufacturers switched to a unitary chassis construction, the fiberglass-bodied Corvette was a popular subject for Europe’s coachbuilders. Pininfarina was one of them, and at the 1963 Paris Motorshow, they launched the featured Rondine Coupe. The Rondine sports an exquisite shape of which various cues were later found on the Fiat 124 Spyder. Still owned by Pininfarina, the unique Corvette is seen here at the 2005 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, where the Italian coachbuilder’s 75th anniversary was celebrated. Source: pininfarina spa. Images: Barrett-Jackson; www.shorey.net; Pininfarina Pictured Above: 1963 Chevrolet Rondine by Pininfarina (First Prototype) Pictured Above: 1964 Chevrolet Rondine by Pininfarina

The Chevrolet Testudo is a concept car built by Bertone on a modified Chevrolet Corvair Monza platform. The name comes from the Latin word for "Turtle." The car debuted at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show. General Motors (GM) Vice President of Styling Bill Mitchell wanted to promote Corvair sales in Europe using locally styled versions. At least two major Italian Carrozzeria showed designs for the Corvair using cars believed to have been supplied directly from GM. Pininfarina showed the first iteration of their Corvair Speciale as early as 1960. In late 1962 a car arrived at Bertone. The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) attributed to the finished concept - 20927W207657 - indicates that it started as a 1962 Corvair 900 (Monza) coupe built in the Willow Run plant. At Bertone, the Corvair's unibody chassis was shortened, reducing the wheelbase from the 108 in (2,743 mm) of the original Corvair to 94 in (2,400 mm). Extra reinforcement was added. The car's design was done by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who was then at Bertone. He said that his goal was to create a shape that merged the two typical views of a car; the plan view and the side elevation. He wanted a body that was a smooth visual blending of the two. Work on the car was completed in two months. The Testudo was driven to Geneva by Nuccio Bertone, where it debuted at the 1963 Geneva Motor show. Following the show, it was driven back to Turin by Giugiaro. In 1965 the Testudo was involved in an accident while shooting a promotional film for Shell. This took place on the Parabolica corner on the Monza circuit. The other car was also a Bertone concept car, the Alfa Romeo Canguro. The Testudo suffered significant damage, and as Bertone was unwilling to divert funds to pay for repairs, the damaged car was left to sit for several years. In 1974 the still-damaged vehicle was offered for sale at an asking price of US$10,000 but remained unsold. It finally underwent a complete restoration in the early 1990s under the direction of Luciano d'Ambrosio, Bertone's new chief designer. The restored Testudo was shown at the 1996 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The Testudo influenced later Bertone designs like the Lamborghini Miura, Alfa Romeo Montreal, and Fiat 850 Spider. The Ferrari Daytona of 1968 references the style of the Testudo. Designer Dick Teague drew inspiration from the Testudo when shaping the 1975 AMC Pacer. Designer Anatole "Tony" Lapine also said that the Testudo influenced his work on the Porsche 928 for 1977. Giugiaro says it was the first car he was ever given a free hand to design. When he departed Bertone, he asked to have the car, but his request was turned down. Giugiaro revisited the tilting canopy concept in 2018 for the design of the GFG Sibylla. The Testudo appeared together with the Sibylla at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show on March 6. On May 21, 2011, RM Sotheby's offered the Testudo for sale at the Villa d'Este at Lake Como.The car sold for €336,000. Suspension The running gear of the original Corvair was retained. The front suspension comprised an upper A-arm and a two-piece lower A-arm with coil springs and hydraulic shock-absorbers mounted to a unitized subframe. An anti-roll bar was fitted at the front. The rear suspension was a swing axle system made up of semi-trailing arms with coil springs and hydraulic shock absorbers mounted to a rear subframe, with drive taken from the transaxle to the wheel hubs through half-shafts that had a universal joint on their inboard ends, and a rigid connection at the outboard ends. Engine and transmission Powering the Testudo was the rear-mounted Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 engine that came with the Corvair. This was an air-cooled six-cylinder horizontally-opposed boxer engine with a single camshaft in the block and overhead valves with two valves per cylinder. The cylinder block and heads were aluminum, but the cylinder barrels were iron. Descriptions of the particular engine used in the Testudo range from an 81 hp (60.4 kW) 140 cu in (2.3 L) version to a 144 hp (107.4 kW) 164 cu in (2.7 L) version. The engine code on the car sold by RM Sothebys was "TO213YN".Assuming this was the original engine, that code indicates a 145 cu in (2,376 cc) High-Performance Engine (HPE) making 102 hp (76.1 kW) built in the Tonawanda plant on February 13. The engine code also indicates that the engine was paired with a manual transmission. The transmission in the Testudo was the 4-speed unit with floor shift offered on the Corvair Monza. Body The car's shape was that of a long-nosed Berlinetta. The bodywork was executed in 0.031 in (0.8 mm) thick steel, with the hood and some other panels of aluminum. Painted initially metallic silver, it was later changed to pearlescent white. A prominent horizontal body line midway up the side of the car visually divided the body into an upper and lower half. This was evocative of a turtle's shell and was reflected in the car's name and the turtle emblem on the rear deck. The car's interior was accessed through a single, front-hinged canopy with a safety glass windscreen. The wrap-around ceiling did not include A-pillars. A roof panel of tinted Plexiglas capped the top of the shelter, and behind that was a sizeable hinged hatch, also with a large curved tinted Plexiglas panel, over the storage compartment. Air intakes for the engine compartment were located on the sides just behind the canopy in what would generally be the leading edges of the B-pillar. This feature would also be used later on in the Miura. The taillights were made of polycarbonate — the first such material application. The lights were integrated into the rear bumper's shape not to disrupt the rear body lines. The exposed headlamps rotated up and forwarded to a vertical position when needed and then folded back flush with the bodywork when not used, another feature that would appear on the Miura. Interior The interior of the car held two seats. Ahead of the driver was a rectangular steering wheel with rounded corners. The car's instrument panel was an "L"-shape rotated 180° with the instruments arranged down the long center leg. Switchgear was placed on the horizontal portion ahead of the driver. Source: Wikipedia Images: Carrozzeria Bertone s.p.a.

The 1963 Buick Riviera Silver Arrow I Buick concept car was a production Riviera coupe specially customized by GM styling head William L. Mitchell. The car served as a personal vehicle for Mitchell when not being shown, much the way early Buick concept cars had for his predecessor Harley Earl. The roof was lowered, and the front fenders lengthened several inches, housing the concealed headlights. There were two more versions of the Silver Arrow I. The Silver Arrow II and Silver Arrow III incorporated unspecified but relatively minor changes to the production Riviera. Source: Bill Bowman - wiki.gmnext.com Images: General Motors Corp.

The GM styling chief, Bill Mitchell, was in London on business when a vision inspired a car. The shapes and sounds of that brief encounter would affect Bill for the rest of his life. It was a foggy morning, and Bill woke early to sit at a small cafe on the street next to his hotel. Just as he took his first sip of the scalding English coffee, a 1955 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn athletically rounded a corner and split the fog that had settled on the street right next to him. However, only a couple of years later, GM brass came to Bill Mitchell with a problem. Ford was killing the market with their new Thunderbird, and they needed something to battle it… They needed a “personal luxury car” of their own. The car had to be fast and luxurious, and the overall quality had to be good enough to support the La Salle crest – Cadillac’s small companion brand from the 1930s. Bill instantly remembered his experience in London and began collecting pictures of mid-1950s era Rolls-Royces. He felt an Americanized version of the British beast would be perfect. A few sketches were made, a library of images created, and when all of the “research” was completed, Bill handed it off to one of his favorite designers – Ned Nickles. Ned and his team finished sketch after sketch only to see them all rejected by Bill as “too many Rolls here” or “not enough Rolls there.” It wasn’t until Bill and Ned stumbled across another car from 1955 that they got their final inspiration – the 1955 Ferrari SuperAmerica. It was long, low, and sleek… a perfect compliment to the knifing lines of the Silver Dawn. The merger was made with an attention to detail that had never been seen in GM styling, and in 1962, the La Salle XP-715 prototype was shown to the world. The feedback was incredible, but Cadillac wasn’t interested in reviving the La Salle brand and cannibalizing its record sales numbers. Buick, however, was ready to produce the car as soon as GM gave them the green. Politics threatened to delay the project, but Bill Mitchell was determined, and a deal was struck. His baby would be a Buick Riviera. After the brand change, one last prototype was built as a production study. The 1963 Buick Riviera prototype was very similar to the XP-715 but featured two significant changes: 1) The “pancaked” hood of the XP-715 was tossed for something more conventional due to production fears. 2) The headlights of the XP-715 were moved from the grille to the fenders and hidden by crossbars. The final result was a stunning car that almost everyone at GM (especially Buick) was ecstatic with. However, the production proved to be challenging. The Riviera was to be built on a frame shared by no other platform. This act was a real rarity for the always cost-conscious General, but brass figured the Riviera was one car that could break the mold. Further, engineers found it too cost-prohibitive to move the headlights from the grille to the back behind the front fender bars. Bill would get his exclusive frame, but he wouldn’t get his hidden headlights – they were moved back to the grille. The 1963 Buick Riviera was released to the public in October of 1962. Production was limited to 40,000 units to lower risk and increase demand. Although expensive (typical optioned-out cars ran $5000), the Riviera was sold out in only seven months. Road & Track and MotorTrend gave the vehicle a raving review using quotes such as: “The most roadable American car to date.” “It’s hard to imagine a more sleek form or one that moves out quite as nimbly. The Buick Riviera is our favorite road car to be tested on these pages.” For 1964, it was just more of the same for the Riviera. There were some option changes and powerplant moves, but for the most part, Buick left it well enough alone. However, by 1965 Buick sales had proven themselves enough to give Bill Mitchell something he always wanted – hidden headlights. Of course, 1965 would also be the last year for the design that many believe is the most beautiful American car ever. www.jalopyjournal.com

1963/4 Colani-BMW 700 is the world’s first vehicle with a self-supporting plastic monocoque car body. Weighing a mere 350kg, the small sportscar with its two-cylinder boxer engine has a Cd factor of 0.22 but hits speeds of 200km/h. The innovative and beautiful vehicle sadly never went into series production. The BMW 700 Colani weighed 440 kilograms, so despite the miniature 700 cc engine with 32 horsepower, the sports car could accelerate to 200 kilometers per hour. In addition to the body architecture, the Colani prototype featured a streamlined body with a drag coefficient of Cx = 0.22. The project attracted public attention and surprised BMW, but the innovative concept did not become serial: the car remained produced in a single copy. Source: www.ultimatecarpage.com; motor.ru Images: Colani Design

In 1964 this svelte coupe was manufactured by ex-Ferrari personnel to compete at the market's top. It used a bespoke V8 mounted behind the passengers with a high level of appointments. Automobili Turismo e Sport SpA (ATS) was an Italian company with engineering support from Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarrini. The company took full advantage of the ex-Ferrari expertise and financing of Count Giovanni Volpi. Later, when Bizzarrini and Volpi left, Chiti finished the design with his V8. Central to the 2500 GT was a bespoke 2.5-liter engine far from a Ferrari unit. It was an all-aluminum 90º V8 that could produce from 210 to 250 horsepower using Weber twin-choke carburetors. The 9000 rpm redline took full advantage of the Abarth custom exhaust and five-speed Colotti gearbox. A mechanical fuel injection system was offered as an option. Holding the car together was a tubular steel spaceframe that sported a double-wishbone suspension both front and rear. Inside, the 2500 GT received a complete leather treatment with a Nardi wooden steering wheel and electric power windows. Power brakes were also standard. Bertone stylist Franco Scaglione was responsible for designing the exterior of the car. He penned a sleek fastback with an integrated front bumper and a rear hatch for access to the V8 engine. The standard GT model featured a steel body, while the GTS was equipped with an all-aluminum body for events like the Targa Florio. The first ATS appeared at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show as one of the first mid-engine sports cars to enter the market. Unlike the racecars that followed it, the show car was lavishly trimmed for touring. An aluminum-bodied version with an extra 40bhp, known as the GTS, was also offered. Ultimately, ATS only completed eight cars, with some of the final vehicles using a 3.0-liter version of the engines. As many as four unused chassis were manufactured when the company was liquidated. Later, Volpi (one of the backers of the failed Serenissima team) reappeared and provided the backing to produce some 2500GT cars as Serenissima's, fitted with a quad-cam V8, but success was never attained. Source: www.supercars.net Images: www.ats-autosport.com

Following the success of the Giulietta Sprint Zagato of the early 1960s, Alfa Romeo began to devise a replacement for the racing Berlinetta to be built on the new 105 Series platform. The 105 was first introduced in Geneva in March 1962, but it was initially only available as the Giulia T.I. sedan. The older 101 platform temporarily continued in the Giulietta coupés and spiders until appropriate replacements could be developed on the 105 chassis. The new racing Berlinetta benefited from this gradual transition, as it received an unrushed and deliberate engineering process by Delta, Carlo Chiti’s competition concern (soon to be renamed Autodelta). The resulting Tubolare Zagato, or TZ, first debuted to the public in late 1962 at the Turin Salon, riding a rigid but lightweight tube frame that inspired the model’s name. Continuing its fruitful relationship with the manufacturer, Zagato fashioned beautiful new coachwork in aluminum that aerodynamically exploited the platform’s raw potential. The new 1,570-cubic centimeter Giulia engine was mounted at a 20-degree angle that required specially cast components, including the intake manifold and the sump. Underneath the rakish coachwork, the standard 105 Series running gear was modified with stiffer springing and a fully independent rear suspension. In contrast, a taller fifth gear, limited-slip differential, and inboard rear disc brakes contributed to superior handling and agility. With Weber carburetors, the motor developed 112 horsepower in street specification but could be tuned to produce 170 for racing use. Weighing just 660 kilograms, the TZ could reach a breath-taking top speed of 215 km/h. Lorenzo Bandini piloted one of the earliest Tubolare Zagatos to a class win and 2nd overall finish during the model’s racing debut at the Coppa FISA at Monza in November 1963. An impressive string of class victories followed for the TZ at 1964 events, including the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa Florio, the Nürburgring 1000 KM, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Tour de France, the Coupe des Alpes, the Tour de Corse, and the Critérium des Cévennes. Only 101 examples of the TZ were produced through 1967, and the model proved to be one of the most dominant and resilient competitors of its era. With even fewer known survivors remaining today, the TZ has become highly prized by collectors and aficionados for its design, rarity, excellent build quality, competition pedigree, and impressive performance. In the opinion of many enthusiasts, it is the ultimate expression of the classic post-war inline four-cylinder Alfa Romeo sports car. Source: rmsothebys.com Images: Zagato; Alfa Romeo

In 1960, the 2000 Sprint made its debut: an elegant and luxurious coupe, 700 of which were built up until 1962. That same year, Bertone also created a 4-seater convertible version of the car, which was not produced commercially. Bertone was also behind the design of the 2000 and the Giulia T.I. In 1963, the Frankfurt Motor Show unveiled the Giulia GT, which replaced the Giulietta Sprint while repeating its enormous success: more than 200,000 of them were built up until 1977, in versions and engine adaptations in the world of car racing as well. It was also in 1963 that Bertone prepared two cars destined to remain one-offs: the 2600 Sprint HS and the Giulia Sprint Speciale. The following year, Bertone produced a coupe built on a Giulia TZ chassis, destined to become a benchmark in the world of car design: the Canguro. Unveiled at the Turin Motor Show, the Canguro boasted a futuristic shape, with windows flush with the car body and the bonnet and panels produced in a wraparound unit hinged at the front. Source: A Century of History: Alfa Romeos by Bertone Images: Bertone

This car came from one of Italy’s lesser-known coachbuilders, Boneschi, which had been set up in 1919 by Giovanni Boneschi. From a base in Padova, the carrozzeria made unique limousine bodies in its early years and rebodied Fiat 1100s, Lancia Aprilias, and Alfa Romeo 1900s in post-war years, plus novelty advertising vehicles. Then in 1960, Boneschi teamed up with a designer called Rodolfo Bonetto. This ex-jazz drummer and self-taught stylist had some very firm design ideas. He was drawn by straight lines, typified in the 1961 Lincoln Continental car design. In his design language, he called this linea tesa (which can be translated as ‘razor edge’). He was convinced that the swoopy car designs presented at the time as “aerodynamic” were nothing of the sort and that his sharp-edged approach was equally valid. Boneschi was persuaded to build a whole series of cars to Bonetto’s linea tesa process from 1960 onwards. These would include special bodies based on the Fiat 1500 S, Fiat 2100, Lancia Flaminia (badged Amalfi), Osca 1600 GT (Swift), and even Maserati 3500 (Tight). The Studionove was based on the then-new Alfa Romeo 2600, launched in March 1962. We’re looking at the ninth (and final) of these razor-edge designs, which is why it had the name ‘Studionove’ (or ninth study) emblazoned on its flanks. Incidentally, Boneschi never made public Bonetto’s seventh and eighth designs – perhaps they were too controversial to be shown. Although Alfa offered its own 2600 Spider (designed by Carrozzeria Touring), Boneschi still thought it worthwhile to propose its own. The car received its public debut at the Turin Show in October 1963. It took delivery of chassis number 192742 on 6 September 1963 and had finished it by 26 October 1963 – a remarkable achievement considering it took a reported 3570 hours’ worth of work. The design was undoubtedly different. Its straight lines were – almost literally – cutting edge, but in general, it looked boxy and heavy. It suffered from over-chroming, and its rigidly squared-off rear wheel arches looked odd, considering its front arches were semi-circular. Perhaps Studionove’s poor reception was one reason why the ‘folder paper’ school of design, promulgated by Giugiaro in the 1970s, took so long to get off the ground. If only the car’s proportions and detailing were better resolved, we might look back on this as the progenitor of a new styling trend. As it was, Bonetto returned to industrial design, making a name for himself with avant-garde furniture. For its part, Boneschi decided to focus its efforts on military vehicles, mobile TV studios, and vans before being swallowed by rival Savio in 1995. Luckily the Studionove still exists today – not that you’d imagine an Alfa 2600 chassis lurks underneath. Source & Images: drives.today

The BMW Hurricane is a concept car that was built in 1964 on the chassis of a BMW 1800i. The Hurricane was fitted with a 1.8-liter, four-cylinder twin-carburetted engine, which produced 120 hp (89 kW) at 5500rpm and 170Nm at 3,600 rpm. The car could go from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.5 seconds with a top speed of 121 mph (195 km/h). Only one unit was produced, a jumble of parts from other cars. The Hurricane incorporated the tail lights from the Fiat 850 Sport Spider, the front turn signals from the Jaguar XJ6, lights from the Volvo 121 Amazon, and the gauge cluster from the BMW 2500. Unusual for a BMW, the Hurricane lacks the characteristic kidney-shaped grille seen on other BMWs. Source: classiccars.fandom Images: oldconceptcars

An extreme variant of the modest Fiat 850 was shown at the Turin Motor Show, with a 155hp 1,592 cc twin cam, twin spark engine from the Fiat-Abarth 1600 Sport racing car giving the Mostro a top speed of 137mph. Source & Images: carsthatnevermadeitetc

The story of the forgotten Porsche began in 1964. Back then, this particular Porsche 911 sports car was happily running along in its standard form, little knowing that in 1966 it would be sent to the Automotive Engineering department at the University of Aachen. The mission: to turn it into a ‘racing coupé’ with a folding roof. The design study seems to take at least some inspiration from the pure racing Porsche 904 and its rear engine cover, which could be seen as a retractable roof. Source: oldconceptcars Images: Rémi Dargegen for Classic Driver © 2014

The fiberglass bodywork was designed by Franco Reggiani and built by Piero Drogo. It was created by father and son Giovanni and Sergio Aguzzoli, who had made their fortune in the salami trade. Sergio was also an Alfa Romeo dealer in Parma. Not much is known other than that the model using Carrozzeria Neri e Bonacini is built using Alfa Romeo SZ running gear on a tubular frame chassis and powered by a rear-mounted 4-cyl 1300cc engine linked to a Citroen DS19 gearbox. This was unsuccessful, so an MKII was created on a modified chassis with a twin-spark 1600cc TZ with a Hewland transaxle. Two prototype cars (MK1 & MK2) were produced and raced successfully at various events. The beautiful design of this Aguzzoli Condor shares some similarities with the Porsche 904, Ferrari 250LM, and Prince R380. Source: oldconceptcars

The new Design & Engineering Centre became fully operational in February 1964 and cost Vauxhall £2.25m, a considerable sum of money at the time. It was the most comprehensive unit in the UK for the next twenty years. Within the center, the styling department occupied most of the first floor along the north side of the building. David Jones and his team went to town on the interior design of the styling area, the choice of materials, furniture, and fittings. The design area was split into the styling area and workshops. Large modern styling studios housed the design function – 3 for car exteriors, the others for car interiors, commercial vehicle cab design, advanced design, body development, and research. In addition, there was a much bigger auditorium or “appraisal” studio with a conference room and working boardroom at one end with one glass wall. Any vehicles under review may be observed constantly throughout discussions. These opened onto an exterior viewing terrace measuring 350ft in length and 70ft wide. The workshop was used to build full-size styling models with a metal shop, wood shop, glass fiber shop, and paint and soft trim shop. The total staff employed initially was about 140. Upon opening, the HA was already in production, as was the FB, and its replacement, the FC 101, was already set to go into production. The PC's initial clay mock-ups were moved to the new building, and work started on the replacements for the HA and FC. But in the advanced styling studio, work began in late 1964 on a sports coupe based on the dimensions being laid out for the upcoming FD Victor, but as seen from the pictures below, some parts were used from a previous sports car project, HAS65. Source: vauxpedianet.uk2sitebuilder.com Images: GM; vauxpedianet.uk2sitebuilder.com

The 1960s Studebaker concept cars' Mercedes look was the creation of designer Brooks Stevens. This page focuses on Stevens' design ideas for the Studebaker concept cars. As planned, the least radical of Stevens' proposals was the 1964 design, which was done as a station wagon with a sliding rear roof panel a la Stevens' new-for-1963 Lark Wagonaire. Grillework continued the "Mercedes look" from his 1962-model Lark facelift but tapered in toward the bottom in a more exaggerated trapezoid. A broad chrome grille header bearing the Studebaker name was spread over to crown side-by-side quad headlamps. Hood and deck were broader, flatter, and lower than on late Larks, while front fenders were sharper and thrust rakishly forward at the top. Mindful of Studebaker's threadbare budget, Stevens contrived to save money by using identical bumpers at each end and center-hinged doors that interchanged diagonally (right front to the left rear, left front to right rear). Opening those doors revealed a modest evolution of the 1963 Lark interior, which Stevens blessed with a nifty oblong gauge cluster containing round dials and rocker-switch minor controls. The 1964 proposal retained these items but with gauges grouped in a three-element panel, as on the GT Hawk, instead of a flat one, with outer ends again angled in slightly to enhance legibility. With the doors opened, the area around the gauges lit up as extra courtesy lighting. Those doors were quite thin, contributing to a relatively colossal passenger space for a compact package. Equally, generous glass areas added to the spacious feel inside and made for panoramic viewing to the outside. Had all gone as planned, this design would have been replaced in 1965 by a slightly more advanced version. Stevens modeled it as a hardtop sedan with broad rear roof quarters, as on the GT Hawk and Ford Thunderbird. An ultra-low beltline and glassy greenhouse were again on hand. So were diagonally interchangeable center-opening doors (complete with vent panes), but they were cut into the roof for easier entry/exit. Equally predictive were hood and trunk lid "cuts" that included the tops of the fenders, giving big openings and easy access to the engine and luggage. Up front was a narrower but still large grille of roughly squarish shape, filled with a mesh-and-bar latticework made convex at the horizontal centerline. The outboard was French Cibié rectangular headlights, though such things were illegal in the U.S. Predictably, the 1965 interior also took the proposed 1964 concepts further. The driver again faced a large upright nacelle holding rocker switches, straightforward white-on-black gauges (a complete set save tachometer), and a couple of big levers. The rest of the dash was a slim, low-set padded shelf. Concealed within was a slide-out "vanity," a drawer-type glovebox divided into more significant sections. Each part had its lid, and the larger one was lifted to reveal a makeup mirror. Stevens first used these ideas on the 1963 Lark. The radio and clock were more novels, which lived atop the dash in clear semi-spheres. Of course, these items would have been optional, and that was the beauty of this design: no unsightly dashboard "blanks" if you didn't order them. Radio operation was clever: Push down on the bubble for on/off and volume, and turn it to change stations. The clock bubble also rotated, allowing everyone to tell the time with equal ease; a final touch was a tilt-adjustable steering wheel, an uncommon feature at the time. Stevens' wanted to introduce a new generation of Studebakers, starting with his prototype for 1966 — the Sceptre. Source: auto.howstuffworks.com Images: www.shorey.net

Renault's first collaboration with bodybuilder Ghia is the development of a sports coupe based on the standard Renault R8 base. A Filippo Sapino prototype pays homage to a pre-war line, a late epigone of Jean Bugatti's cars. The car is a kind of reference to the pre-war car design of Jean Bugatti. Source: www.popmech.ru Images: gtfrance.free.fr

The 1964 XP-883 Pontiac Banshee I Concept was John DeLorean’s pet project, and he wanted it in production. Two functional cars were designed by DeLorean’s design team and produced by an outside coachbuilder. One was a two-passenger fiberglass coupe powered with a straight six-cylinder, overhead cam engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. It was painted Metallic Silver with a red interior and weighed approximately 2,200 pounds. The other vehicle was a pearlescent white, two-passenger roadster powered by 326 C.I.D. V8 engine. The third generation Corvette was already on the drawing boards at this time, and the Banshee borrowed styling cues from that car. A few things that distinguished the Banshee from the Corvette were that the Banshee used a solid rear axle to keep costs down and make the car more affordable than the Corvette and a unique clamshell door design. General Motors’ executives viewed the concepts as too much of a threat to the Corvette and, as a result, instructed DeLorean to cease additional development. Both concepts survive today and are in the hands of private collectors. Source: Bill Bowman - wiki.gmnext.com Images: www.hotrod.com

Ogle and Reliant got together to produce the first Reliant Scimitar GT. The first prototype car was badged as an Ogle (note the square badge on the front) and registered with DVLA as an Ogle with registration AUE 38B on 28-05-1964. The Ogle Scimitar differed from the Ogle SX250. The engine for the Scimitar remained the same as the Sabre. It retained its straight six 2.6-liter Ford unit. The rear wheel arches were rounded, and the bumpers were used from the Classic Capri. Source: www.sporting-reliants.com Images: olsen-designs.com

1964 Mercury Super Marauder was created by the legendary customizer George Barris for Mercury. It was powered by a 427 V8 and featured side-mounted exhaust pipes and a chopped windshield. The overall length was cut eight inches, and the wheelbase shortened four inches from the production Marauder. The wheelbase of "Super Marauder" is five inches shorter and overall length eight inches shorter than the standard Mercury. It is built for two passengers, with no top. The windscreen and side windows are designed to eliminate the need for goggles at high speeds. Two futuristic headrests in the filled-in deck area are individually adjustable and contain rear turn signals. Velocity stacks are incorporated into the bonnet to accommodate a multi-carb system not yet out of the drawing board stage. The engine is a stock 427 inches. Two front fender intakes feed air to the brakes. Exhaust exits through outlets in stainless steel moldings just ahead of the rear wheels. The steering is a two-handle type, utilizing conventional power steering. The exterior finish is "Golden Cinnabar," a bright Vermillion color. Source: www.wingedmessenger.net; www.classiccarcatalogue.com Images: Ford Motor Company; www.mercurystuff.com