Chrysler Norseman
In 1956, Virgil Exner the head designer of the Chrysler Corporation contracted with Ghia of Turin, Italy to build (at a cost of $150,000) a concept car without an A-Pillar for the 1957 show circuit. The car's fastback roof was made of a special glass by PPG for strength in a rollover. There were 1/4" steel rods in place of the A-Pillars -- which in theory were to break and cause the roof to snap back in the event of a roll over. Body panels were hand formed aluminum over wooden bucks. The leather interior of four bucket seats and futuristic gauge pods -- with some type of luminescent paint on the back of the front seats for a lighting experiment. Power came from a 331 CI Hemi rated at 235hp, with a 2-speed Powerflite transmission, and shifted by push-buttons.
The car was carefully packed into a wooden crate and loaded on the Italian Luxury Liner SS Andrea Doria for shipment to New York. 40 Miles off the coast of Nantucket, the ship collided with the Stockholm. It sank 11 hours later and now rests 235 feet below the surface on its starboard side. Virgil Exner was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack at the time.
The SS Andrea Doria is the "Mt. Everest" of underwater divers -- and many divers have lost their lives diving to it. Only one diver, David Bright, has seen the car (while searching for a lost diver) -- in 1994. He described it as a rusted hulk. Due to the way the ship lies -- he said that he doubts that he or anyone else will ever see the car again. He died in 2006, of cardiac arrest from decompression sickness after a 50th anniversary dive to the ship.
There is a dispute on the colors -- and precious few photos (none in color) exist of the car prior to loading on the Doria. Exner said he ordered the car in Silver paint. Chrysler says that it was to be dark green with green and gray interior. Reporters who saw the car prior to crating, say it was tu-tone blue with red leather and black accents.
Associated Press' coverage of the Norseman was short, simple, and to the point:
The experimental car was built for Chrysler in Turin, Italy, and was being shipped to the United States for public showing. A Chrysler spokesman said Friday the Norseman cost about $150,000, including a year's engineering work. It was insured.
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Contents
Background
Background of The Exner Era Dream Cars
Quick History of Exner
In 1932, A 23-year-old Virgil Exner was hired by GM's Art and Color Studio. Boss, Harley Earl immediately recognized Exner's design talent. Two years later Enxer was put in charge of the entire Pontiac Studio, a job he kept until 1939 when Raymond Lowry hired him to work on his studio's design contract with Studebaker. Exner worked with Lowry and Studebaker all through WWII, and when the highly advanced 47 Studebaker's were shown to the public in 1946, they were touted as "The First By Far With A Post War Car. It would be the 1949 Model year when the "Big Three" would catch up.
A dispute between Lowry and Exner over credit for the design of the 52 Studebaker caused Exner's firing. Studebaker wasnt impressed with the Lowry proposal for the 52s, and Exner showed them a design he'd been working on at home on his own time. Studebaker liked it and Lowry wanted credit for his employee's work. He was fired when he refused, but Studebaker picked Exner up for their in-house design team. There was little love between Lowry and Exner for the rest of each of their lives.
In 1949, Chrysler President K. T. Keller hired Exner away from Studebaker for the purpose of designing cars that would improve Chrysler's stodgy image. The Chrysler Corporation was well known for its engineering firsts, but not its styling. The Chrysler Corporation's "Small on the Outside - Big on the Inside" designs looked ancient when compared to the 49 Ford and GM offerings. Keller wanted the cars designed to where a man could drive with his hat on. This made the cars appear too tall.
At first Exner worked secretly on Advance Designs, but was soon promoted to head the studio. The model year designs were already locked in through 1954, so Exner began work on the 1955 model, the first year of the "Forward Look" designs.
Keller and Exner agreed that they should step up Chrysler's showing of Dream Cars to compete with Harley Earl's million dollar dream cars displayed in the Motorama shows. They felt this would create excitement with the public on updated designs that would hit the showrooms in the future. However, they would have to do it on a budget no where near the size GM had given Earl.
Exner and Ghia
While working on his first of the Chrysler Dream Cars, the K-310, Exner and his design team were at an impasse. On a previous trip to Italy, K. T Keller commissioned both Pininfarina and Ghia to each build a car of his loose design specs, but allowed them design creativity. The purpose was not to test their design skills, but to test them for quality, fit and finish.
Knowing that the Exner team was having trouble with K-310, Keller invited the team to view the cars that had just arrived from Italy. Pininfarina had closely followed the specs, while Ghia took great liberties with their allowed creativity. Ghia's car was very impressive. The Ghia submission was also far better in quality, fit an finish than the submission from Pininfarina. It was to became the Plymouth XX-500 show car. In addition to Ghia's craftsmanship, their design abilities were a pleasant surprise.
This began the long relationship between Chrysler and Ghia, and more importantly - collaboration between their designers.
Designer
Chassis
Body
Interior
Drivetrain
Car Shows
Movies Appeared in
Magazine Articles
- August 2009 Hemmings Classic Car
Reference
Internet Links
- MoparStyle.com http://www.moparstyle.com/forums/
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