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GM Focusing on Design at 2007 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
Detroit – Hundreds of elegant and extraordinary vehicles will be on display March 9 - 11 at the 2007 Amelia Island, Fla., Concours d’Elegance. GM Global Vice President of Design Ed Welburn will be on hand as an event judge and will continue emphasizing GM’s design renaissance.
“As one of only three Concours events in the country, this is a design experience like no other, and we are glad to be showcasing GM designs spanning the years,” said Welburn. “The historically significant cars and trucks at the Concours continue to be an inspiration to me and to other designers around the world.”
GM is displaying six concept vehicles at the 2007 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in support of the event theme (Great Road Races) and the event organizer’s request for Corvair Concept cars:
- 1954 Cadillac Carrera Panamericana
- 1962 Corvair SuperSpyder Concept Car
- 1963 Corvair Monza SS Concept Car
- 1963 Corvair Monza GT Concept Car
- 1967 Corvair Astro I Concept Car
- 1969 Bill Mitchell Corvair
The rebuilt 1954 Cadillac Carrera Panamericana is being driven from North Carolina to the event by select media guests. The Saturn Aura, the North American Car of the Year, will be on display as will the Cadillac CTS-V Race Car.
The CTS-V, built in 2003, represents Cadillac's 21st century renaissance and return to American road racing. Team Cadillac began competing in SPEED World Challenge GT racing in 2004, and continues to this day. The CTS-V Race Car is 60 percent common to the CTS-V that Cadillac began selling to sports sedan enthusiasts in 2004, as a dramatic demonstration of the brand's revamped design and performance.
Additionally, GM is sponsoring Saturday’s Great Road Racing Seminar which celebrates the World’s “Great Road Races,” including the Targa Florio, Panamericana and the Isle of Man TT motorcycle race. The event will feature drivers like Sir Stirling Moss, John Surtees MBE and John Fitch, and the cars that ran in these thrilling and dangerous competitions.
For more information on GM’s Concours d’Elegance activities, contact GM Design Communications’ Julie Huston-Rough at Julie.Huston-Rough@gm.com or 313-549-6977.
Vehicle Descriptions
1954 Cadillac Carrera Panamericana (pictured)
When Keith Andrews and Blu Plemons entered a 1954 Cadillac Series 62 coupe “borrowed” from a car dealer in the 1954 Carrera Panamericana (the Mexican Road Race), the independent racers faced enormous odds against the top factory-backed teams of the era.
Andrews and Plemons not only finished third in class and 11th overall in the grueling race – the sixth round of the 1954 FIA World Sports Car Championship – their Cadillac outran every other stock car on the final two high-speed stages of the eight-stage event. They completed the 1,907-mile race in less than 21 hours, averaging more than 115 miles per hour over the final 410 miles.
To celebrate the accomplishment, General Motors Performance Division re-created the car with “frame-on” restoration of a vintage car discovered in GM’s vehicle inventory matching the original racer’s specs…even in color.
Updates were made to enhance vehicle and occupant safety, but the original design intent was maintained. “Their performance in 1954 was consistent with Cadillac’s DNA,” said Kevin Smith, Cadillac’s Communications manager. “This edition of that unforgettable car brings that fact to V8-powered life.”
The re-creation will be Cadillac’s featured vehicle at the 2007 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. The 1954 Cadillac will not arrive on a trailer like most concours vehicles, but is being driven from North Carolina to Amelia Island by several automotive journalists. It will be displayed complete with highway dirt and grime, re-creating its appearance at the finish line of the 1954 Carrera Panamericana.
1962 Corvair SuperSpyder Concept Car
The Chevrolet Corvair, introduced in 1960, presented very accommodating platform for designers to use to stretch their imaginations.
The platform, with its rear-mounted, horizontally-opposed 6-cylinder engine and transaxle combined with a four-wheel independent suspension system would provide the basis for four remarkable concept cars from the GM Design Studios, then under the direction of Bill Mitchell.
The earliest of the Corvair concepts shown at Amelia Island is the 1962 XP 785 Super Spyder. Built on a 1961 Corvair platform with its wheelbase shortened 15 inches, the Super Spyder had some of the original car’s appearance when viewed from the front…but it was a different story when viewed in profile.
In this pose, the close-coupled two-seater with its racing-inspired windscreen, extended fibreglass tonneau cover featuring a head rest that tapered into the engine cover and three chrome exhaust pipes exiting behind both rear wheels took on a look distinctly its own.
1963 Corvair Monza SS Concept Car
The 1963 Corvair Monza SS concept car was one of two Corvair Concepts to make their public debut at the 1963 New York Auto Show. Created in the GM Design studio under Bill Mitchell’s direction, this stunning SS roadster and the equally remarkable Monza GT coupe were showstoppers.
Like the GT, the SS was based on a shortened Corvair platform. But, unlike the GT, the engine was left in its stock location behind the transaxle. With a wheelbase of just 88 inches, the rear-mounted engine helped give this short wheelbase roadster a comfortable cockpit featuring fixed seats with adjustable pedals and the added benefit of a small luggage compartment.
When viewed today, with its 4-wheel disc brakes and magnesium wheels complimenting the Weber-carburetored air-cooled flat six, the 1963 Monza SS is a clearly a concept that demonstrates how heritage can influence the shape of the future.
1963 Corvair Monza GT Concept Car
An important part of GM Design history is represented by the Corvair Monza GT. Riding on a wheelbase 16 inches shorter than a standard Corvair, the Monza GT’s rear-engine was rotated 180° from its standard position to create a true mid-engine car.
With doors that opened forward like a canopy from the base of the windshield to the “B” pillars and a rear-opening engine cover, the low (42 inch) GT coupe established new benchmarks for contemporary design.
Powered by a turbocharged, 145 cubic inch, horizontally-opposed, aluminum six-cylinder engine, the GT delivered “go” that backed-up its “show.”
First presented to the public at the 1963 New York Auto Show, the Monza GT occupies a special place in concept car history.
1967 Corvair Astro I Concept Car
If the shape of the 1967 Corvair Astro I looks futuristic today, imagine the impact at its debut at the New York Auto Show forty years ago. Designed to investigate the “visual potential of automobile aerodynamic characteristics,” the Astro I dramatically demonstrated the harmony that could be achieved between aesthetics and aerodynamics.
To achieve the aero goals, a very small frontal area, extremely low roof line and a relatively high back were required. These design parameters led GM Design to the Corvair platform with its air-cooled rear-mounted engine and the absence of a space consuming radiator.
The Astro I’s body is fiberglass and the sleek bubble on the roof contains an intricate mirror system to provide the driver with unobstructed rearward vision. Riding on a sophisticated double-wishbone suspension, the Astro I utilized compact centrifugal blowers to cool the engine while keeping drag-inducing body openings to a minimum.
1969 Bill Mitchell Corvair
This vehicle is one of the last few Corvairs to roll off the line in 1969. It began life as a 1969 Corvair Monza, which came standard with a higher level of standard equipment than base models. It was a personal favorite of Bill Mitchell. He had the car painted a custom orange/pearl color, and added Dayton wire wheels with white wall tires. In typical Bill Mitchell fashion, he had a performance package added under the hood. The car has never been restored and is in its original condition with only 2,688 miles, just the way Bill left it.
Press release via General Motors
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