1954 Plymouth Explorer Concept: Not by Exner

There is little Internet information regarding the 1954 Plymouth Explorer concept car.  Two snippets are here and here.  The second link mentions in passing that a Chrysler Corporation press release credited coachbuilder Ghia (which built the car) as being the designer, though the writer believed the designer was Virgil Exner (1909-1973) who was Chrysler's styling director and responsible for some previous Ghia-built show cars.

For a long time I too assumed that Exner and his team were responsible for most of those early-to-mid-1950s show cars, including the Explorer.  I got my information mostly from Motor Trend magazine in those days, but no longer have copies that might have dealt with the Explorer.

We now know that Ghia indeed designed as well as built a number of those cars, including the Explorer.  His Wikipedia entry credits Ghia owner Luigi Segre (1919-1963) with the design.  However, it seems to have been inspired by a previous Ghia product, the Fiat 8V Supersonic whose design is credited to Giovanni Savonuzzi.

The Plymouth Explorer still exists, and you can view it in Los Angeles at the Petersen Automotive Museum.  I saw it in the Spring of 2017 and took some photos displayed below.

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First, some early Plymouth Explorer photos:

The windshield might be a preview of Chrysler's 1955 version of the faddish mid-late '50s wraparounds.  Chrysler retained a backwards-sloping A-pillar, unlike most it its competitors.  The grille housing seems awkward seen from this angle.

Chrysler Corporation's brand having vertical grille bars was DeSoto, so the Explorer would better have been  given that label (though it was built on a Plymouth chassis and had a 6-cylinder motor instead of a DeSoto Firedome V-8).  The forward-leaning grille seems awkward from this perspective as well.

The substantial bumpers, especially at the rear, make the Explorer more street-worthy than most other show cars.
Now for my photos of the Explorer and the Fiat 8V Supersonic that also was on display.  Click on them to enlarge.

Front bumpers could not have protected the grille.

The tops of the rear fenders are oddly fussy.  These details and the grille mar an otherwise nice design on a comparatively large American platform.

The Fiat 8V Supersonic.  Similarities include the long hood, short passenger compartment and the raised, horizontal side trim and its air vent.

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Some Isotta Fraschinis by Touring

I wrote about 1930 vintage Castagna-bodied Isotta Fraschini cars here. There were many Internet images of them available from various auction houses, but I found few pictures taken when the cars were new.  The opposite is the case with this post dealing with Carrozzeria Touring bodies for Isotta in the same era.  I found several old photos, but no pictures of existing cars.

Perhaps this curiosity might be explained because Castagna did a lot of work on Isottas, whereas Touring seemed to favor Alfa Romeo and few or none of its Isotta Fraschinis survive.  My personal library has almost nothing dealing with Isotta Fraschini, so I hope readers can provide the needed information.

In the years around 1930, Isotta Fraschinis were powered by inline eight cylinder motors that required fairly long hoods.  However, hoods seen on these cars seem longer than necessary to house such engines.  Regardless, the proportions created by factory hoods made it easier for coachbuilders (who provided all Isotta bodies in those days) to create impressive designs.

Below are images of Isottas with Touring bodies.

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1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Coupé.

1927(ca.) Isotta Fraschini Weymann Coupé.  The car in the top image also seems to have a wood-and-fabric Weymann type body.

1932 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8B progetto "Tip-Top".

1932 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Berlinetta.  This photo and the preceding one seem to be of the same car, though the captions derived from captions found on the Internet differ.

1932 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8B Limousine

1935(ca.) Isotta Fraschini Limousine.

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Some Castagna Isotta Fraschinis

In every automotive era except during and shortly after world wars, super-luxury / super-prestige cars were produced.  Around 1930 those marques included, among others, Duesenberg in the United States, Rolls-Royce and Daimler in Britain, Maybach in Germany, Hispano-Suiza in France, and Minerva in Belgium.

And for Italy there was Isotta Fraschini.  Its English language Wikipedia entry was not very useful at the time this post was drafted, so I suggest the Italian entry here or perhaps the French version, and have your computer translate.  Isottas from around 1930 were all equipped with custom-made bodies, and a leading supplier was carrozzeria Castagna conveniently based near Isotta Fraschini in Milan.  Its Italian Wikipedia entry is here.

Below are images of Castagna-built Isottas from that time.  The cars had in-line eight cylinder motors and their hoods were extremely long. With the exception of a 1933 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Dual Cowl Sports Tourer (not shown, but link here), Castagna bodies for Isotta I found on the Internet were basically conventional, but attractively styled.

An interesting Isotta Fraschini feature was the various (usually) Art Deco type chromed designs laid atop the grilles.  Some appeared on more than one car, others might have been unique.  Perhaps a knowledgeable reader can provide some background information in a comment.

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1928 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A "Commodore" Roadster Cabriolet by Castagna, RM Sotheby's photo.

Same car, rear 3/4 view.

1929 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A 7.4 Litre Sport Landaulette by Castagna, Bonhams photo.

Same car, rear 3/4 view.

1929 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Roadster by Castagna, for sale photo.

Same car, side view.

Same car, rear 3/4 view.

1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8AS Boattail Cabriolet by Castagna, RM Sotheby's photo.

1930 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Torpedo Sport by Castagna.

1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Cabriolet by Castagna, Bonhams photo.  This might be the same car as in the previous photo.

Same car, side view.

Same car, rear 3/4 view.

1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A "Commodore" Cabriolet by Castagna, Barrett-Jackson photo.

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Touring's Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 'Lungo' Berlinetta

Carrozzeria Touring produced a number of outstanding designs during its heyday (background on the firm here).  One of the very best was that for the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900, specifically the 8C 2900B Lungo (long wheelbase) Berlinetta of 1937-1939.

Even though it is a large, elegant car, Touring's Superleggera (super-light) body construction allowed their 2900s to be highly competitive road racers.

A very fine example of this rare car can be found in Naples, Florida at the Revs Institute Collier Collection.  The museum's background information on the car is here.

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Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 at Pebble Beach Concours, 2007.  When taking this photo I hadn't yet developed the habit of photographing information plaques, so I don't know for sure exactly what model this is.  However, it does look a lot like our subject car, but perhaps a Corto (short wheelbase) version.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Berlinetta by Touring, winner of the 1947 Mille Miglia.

The same 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Berlinetta by Touring as seen in the Revs Institute museum in early May 2017.

Side view.

Outstanding composition using teardrop shaping.

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Pebble Beach 2016 Winner: 1936 Lancia Astura by Farina

This blog deals almost entirely with production cars and concept cars whose designs are made in corporate styling studios.  But sometimes a coachbuilder design is presented, and this is one of those occasions.

The "hook" for this post is the famed Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance held every August near Carmel-by-the-Sea on the scenic California coast.  Its actual venue is in the area of the 18th hole of the Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The winner of the 2016 Best of Show award was a 1936 Lancia Astura clad by Pinin Farina.  Car and Driver magazine's take is here.

I don't see much point in giving Farina's design a critique because Robert Cumberford, Automobile Magazine's doyen of automobile styling criticism, does his usual fine job here.

Below are two photos of the winning Lancia, at least one of which was taken by David Pau Morris.  The first image was from the Sports Car Digest web site, the Morris photo is via Bloomberg.  The remaining photos are many years old and found on the Internet.

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The winning car as seen at Pebble Beach.

Only a few Farina-bodied Asturas were built, and this is another one.  The windshields are in their folded down position.

Another Farina Astura seen here at a Concours d'Elegance in Oostende, 1937.

The same car and same woman in a different setting.

A photo via Pininfarina.  That firm owned the Concours-winning car for a number of years.

Finally, a Farina Astura Cabriolet in an Alpine setting with its windshield panels lowered.  Very sleek.  The car in the right background is a 1936 Fiat 1500 Berlina.

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