Whaddyacallit #515- Styling mockup for the 1958 Corvette, inspired by the Olds Golden Rocket

[Ray B.]

Ever seen this ?

If you did, please respond below and let us know the "make and model" of this car. As usual, quite detailed answers are appreciated.

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Thanks!

[Otto Puzzell]

That's pretty cool!

[Vincent Vell Vet]

Is it GM?

[Ray B.]

It is.

[Vincent Vell Vet]

Pontiac?

[Ray B.]

Not a Pontiac.

[whcgt]

Is it a Cadillac?

[Ray B.]

And no Cadillac either.

[Vincent Vell Vet]

Gotta be an Olds then I would think. Not big and outlandish enough for a Buick or Caddy-lac imo.

[Otto Puzzell]

I never expected this one to last this long.

[Vincent Vell Vet]

Yes Otto, I really am that bad ! 

It looks an aweful lot like the '56 Olds Golden Rocket.
Could it be the mock-up for it?

[Otto Puzzell]

You don't carry the mantle of Rookie shame alone

[f1fan]

Corvette show car?  For World's Fair?

[Ray B.]

Yes Otto, I really am that bad ! 

It looks an aweful lot like the '56 Olds Golden Rocket.
Could it be the mock-up for it?

You're quite right about the Golden Rocket: it is connected, but it's not a mock-up for this one.
And1fan our newcomer, may also be on to soething.

So this is locked for both of you (a premiere) 48 hours.
In exchange, I'll ask you to be quite precise. No point for approximations.

[f1fan]

It's got to be a Motorama car then.

[Vincent Vell Vet]

This, like the infamous 3 million dollar 2 seater F-88, F-88 MK II, and amoung others, were based on a Corvette frame.

Not having found any pix other than the one above, this car might have been the first to have the split window first found in production on the '63 'Vette. If not, the first was the '56 Golden Rocket.     

There doesn't seem to be any pix of this car "in the metal", so I'll have to go with '55 Cutlass Fastback Coupe mock up.

There was a '54 Cutlass Coupe. Front bumper looked like a '56 Olds, and the rear looked like a '59 Olds all in a short Corvette 2 seat platform that looked very imbalanced.
The above car looks inbetween the Cutlass Coupe and the Golden Rocket.

I know you wanted more than just a guess, but this is the best I could do!

[Ray B.]

You're right, it's a mockup, and not for the Cutlass.

[Ray B.]

Free for all rookies and experts.

[Wendax]

Mock-up for Oldsmobile F-88, also known as the XP-20 project.

[fyreline]

I don't think so . . . if I remember correctly, this is actually a styling proposal for a 1950's Corvette. I believe the rest of the picture showed a 2-seat Ford Thunderbird for comparison. I'm pretty sure I have this exact photo "somewhere in the archives".

But, I may be wrong!

[Ray B.]

Mock-up for Oldsmobile F-88, also known as the XP-20 project.

Nope.

[Ray B.]

I don't think so . . . if I remember correctly, this is actually a styling proposal for a 1950's Corvette. I believe the rest of the picture showed a 2-seat Ford Thunderbird for comparison. I'm pretty sure I have this exact photo "somewhere in the archives".

But, I may be wrong!

You're right sofar, but not precise enough. Locked for you 48 hours

[fyreline]

Thanks, Ray.  I'll take a look through my resources tonight and see if I can zero in on it a bit better.  You originally asked for "Make and Model", which would be Chevrolet Corvette. I don't know if this styling prototype had an actual name . . . Are you looking for a name, or a year, or both?  Just trying to save some time.

[fyreline]

Okay, here's what I have been able to find out . . . First, I'm not surprised that so many people correctly thought this car was related to the 1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket show car for that year's GM Motorama. It is indeed related. What we have here is a GM styling proposal for the 1958 Corvette, constructed first in clay and then in fiberglass during 1956-1957. It's styling did in fact take many cues from the Olds Golden Rocket. It featured flip-up panels above the doors for ease of entry and exit, and a split rear window which eventually showed up on the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray coupe. It was intended to feature unit construction and sheet metal bodywork, both in an attempt to decrease unit cost and increase volume. Unfortunately, GM (and especially Chevrolet) found itself in a sales slug-fest with Ford in 1958, and the ambitious project was shelved in favor of what many consider a somewhat heavy-handed facelift that had to last the Corvette for a few more years. While the article I found contained not only the above information, but also great shots of both the front and rear of this car (which I have included below), there was no specific model name mentioned for this car. I was wrong about the original photo also showing a 2-seat Thunderbird - it actually shows a Mercedes-Benz 300SL gullwing coupe!

So my "final answer" is: 1958 Chevrolet Corvette styling proposal, constructed in 1956-57 and based on the styling cues of the 1956 Olds Golden Rocket Motorama show car. Best I can do.

[Ray B.]

And more than enough. By the way, you were not wrong about the original photo showing a Thunderbird: here it is.