Solved - NEH 456: Rover P5 prototype 1952/4

[Carnut]

1 point for a correct identification of this car:

[Carnut]

Rover P5 Prototype, 1952-54 (actually just a mock-up, not a proper prototype)

And you've doubled your point (that's the 2nd time I've written that today...)
This was an early development model for what eventually became the Rover 3-litre (then the Rover 3.5 litre when the ex-Buick V8 was adopted, which went on to become such a ubiquitous engine in cars like the TVR).  The Rover 3-litre was very commonly known by its development name of Rover P5.

So who was it invented the coke-bottle waistline again?!

[Otto Puzzell]

Earl. R. Dean

[Carnut]

Earl. R. Dean

Crikey - an answer to my rhetorical question!
I think the puzzle car looks way ahead of its 1952/4 time, more modern even than the P5 which eventually reached production, although only with the benefit of hindsight and knowing all about the coke-bottle shapes of the late '60s and early '70s.

What was Earl R. Dean's car that actually introduced it?

[Otto Puzzell]

No, it was his prize-winning design for the now-ubiquitous Coke-bottle. 

[Allemano]

No, it was his prize-winning design for the now-ubiquitous Coke-bottle. 

Earl Dean made the bottle design from 1915. The new design is most likely from Raymond Loewy.

[Otto Puzzell]

Loewy's studio updated it, yes, but he didn't invent it (which is what Carnut asked). He was in the Army when the first contour battle went into production.

And yes, I know, Carnut was asking for the inventor of Coke-bottle automotive shapes.