1959 Oldsmobile F-88 Mark III Concept Car

Bright red with a brushed aluminum retractable hardtop, this low, sleek two-seater was Earl’s design swan song. Its 102 inch wheelbase carried a combination fiberglass and steel body, and it stood only forty-six inches high. Inside were bucket seats and aircraft-type instruments featuring rotating disc-type tachometer and speedometer, color-coded according to range. To obtain a very low hood, there was a special carburetor arrangement and an altered-from-stock crossflow aluminum radiator. The muffler / exhaust system was mounted ahead of the engine, exiting forward of the front wheels; an experimental Hydra-matic was mounted in the rear to improve weight distribution. Harley Earl drove the Mark III for a while during his retirement.

Source: Internet

1957 Oldsmobile F-88 Mark II Concept Car

1957 Oldsmobile F-88 Mk.II was rebodied version of Earl's F-88 #2

A Mark II version was finished for the 1957 Motorama.

Updated version of the original, painted blue metallic and featuring design aspects of the forthcoming GM ’58s, notably the Chevrolet Impala and Corvette. A big ovoid grille with vertical teeth and a nerf-type front bumper system distinguished this Harley Earl special.

Source: Internet

1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket Concept Car

The 1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket Concept, a gold colored 2 passenger car, which was styled to resemble a rocket, made its debut at the 1956 General Motors Motorama and was used at many other auto shows.

The Rocket had a fiberglass body with nerf-like built in bumpers that give an overall rocket effect. It was powered with a 234 CID, 275 horsepower Rocket V8 engine and weighs 2,500 pounds.

The upholstery was done in blue and gold leather. The speedometer was mounted in the center of the two-spoked steering wheel along with buttons to tilt the wheel, making it one of the first vehicles with a tilt steering wheel.

As either door was opened, the roof panel automatically raised and the seat came up 3 inches and swiveled outward for easy entry or exit.

The Golden Rocket was revised several times and stayed on the show circuit for several years.

The 1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket featured a seating system in which a roof panel was raised and the seat was elevated and rotated toward the entering occupant when the door was opened. Buttons on the steering wheel allowed the column to tilt downward, providing the driver with easier access.

A wild-looking bronze-metallic two-seat coupe was the most projectile-like Olds show car, and one of the quickest: Its 234 V-8 was tuned to produce 275 hp, which must have been impressive considering its curb weight of about 2,500 pounds. Like most of its predecessors, the Rocket had a fiberglass body. Roof panels rose, resembling Mercedes’ gullwing-style, and the seats lifted and swiveled out to welcome the posterior when the doors were opened. Conventional bumpers were replaced by nerf-like built-in bumpers, and one of the first-known tilt steering wheels was in the cockpit.

Source: Internet

1955 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Concept Car

One of the many attractions of the 1955 GM Motorama was this 1955 Oldsmobile 88 Delta. The two-tone blue dream car featured a blue-tinted, brushed aluminum roof and blue-tinted glass. This car's fate is not known. The photo seen here was colorized so the colors are approximations.

A four-passenger close-coupled coupe just fifty-three inches high, mounted on a 120 inch wheelbase similar to that of the production 88. The Delta was designed to consider new materials and design features, many of which are taken for granted today: dual fuel tanks in the rear fenders, cast-aluminum wheels, anodized aluminum trim, a center console for radio controls and extra storage. Styling was strictly Harley Earl, very rounded with the dipped beltline that would permeate the GM line by 1957-58, and the car was two tones of metallic blue.

Source: Internet

1953 Oldsmobile Starfire Convertible

The "X-P Rocket" Oldsmobile Starfire Convertible Show Car, 1953

A low, sleek, turquoise prototype, this Corvette-like two-seater was named after Lockheed’s F94B Starfire fighter. It prefigured several ideas that would reach production, although not necessarily by Oldsmobile: fiberglass bodywork, wraparound windshield, combination bumper-grille and bucket seats. Brake horsepower from the 308 V-8 was over 200, the first time this plateau had been reached.

Under Harley Earl’s design teams leadership, Oldsmobile unveiled the Starfire dream car at the 1953 GM Motorama. It was Oldsmobiles first GM Motorama concept car and was named after the Lockheed F-94B Starfire fighter plane.

Many Starfire features, most noticeably the large oval grille, found their way into the production 1956 models. It featured a wraparound windshield with a fiberglass body, one of the early attempts using this postwar “wonder” material.

A special built Rocket V8 with over 200-horsepower powered the Starfire. The Starfire was finished in a turquoise finish with a turquoise and white leather interior.

The Starfire was never intended for production. Its real purpose was to gauge public reaction to the new styling planned for 1954.

Source: Internet

1954 Oldsmobile F-88 Experimental Car

Oldsmobile F-88 Experimental Car, 1954

1954 Oldsmobile F-88 concept car was a 2-passenger model with recessed sports car-type seats, a panoramic windshield, jet airfoil wheel disks and a recessed license plate. The instrument panel started at the center of the dash panel and ran vertically to the floor.

Corvette-inspired descendant of the ’53 Starfire in brown metallic with pigskin upholstery, and powered by a 250 bhp 324 V-8, the F-88 featured cone-shaped clear plastic headlamp covers and a functional hood scoop. It was strictly a dream car, since the lukewarm sales of the Corvette precluded any sports car cloning by the other GM divisions.

Source: Internet

Rolls Royce Phaeton III 1939

Rebodied in 1947 by Labourdette of Paris, this Phantom III was the designer's last and arguably most daring work.

The Vutotal principle had a floating roof - no A-pillars!

Source: Internet