Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-19
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others got into the act with their
versions of sports ears. wisely
calling them rolling laborato-
ries" not for sale. These TX"
models whetted the apetites of
thousands for a car with some
of their features.
(The windshield of the LIE
Sabre and XP-300 looks very
much like those on the current
BuickS.)
The impact of plastic bodies
and sports models on the sales
picture was almost galvanic. AS
stated earlier. the Corvette was
an immediate sensation. And
plastics are finding more and
more use in the production of
regular passenger cars, sports
styled production cars and the
real thing. like the new Ford
and :Kaiser-Darrin sports car.
So this year there is a sig
nificant trend forming. No less
than II manufacturers are
showing cars with sports-styled
bodies; there are at least eight
American sports cars on the
market.
One thing should be made
clear at this point. however.
Cadillac's La Mans and Packard's
Caribbean are not strictly sports
cars. They are mostly Sexy con-
vertibleS with a tuned version of
a standard engine mounted on
a stock chassis. These cars
could no more keep up with a
Austin Healy 100, for instance,
over country roads than BIZ
cycle could keep up with mo-
torcycle.
But they are the prototype of
what eventually may turn into
real sports cars. If the trend
proves sound. American ingenu-
ity and know how could produce
such cars within FIVE years.
Some manufacturers have not
waited for Detroit. Pioneers
like Cunningham, Nash Healy |
"a hybrid of Detroit, England |
and italy,, Curtis and Excalibur.
having less at stake than multi
million dollar body dies. ETC..
have gone out onto the limb and |
found the outlook gratifying.
Cunningham and Nash Healey |
have not gone begging for buy
ers in spite of their price. Some |
models of the Cunningham are |
as high as $4,000 while the Nash |
Healys are between $4,000 and |
$4,000. ....
Each Of these cars has one |
thing in common: many of their |
running parts are right out Of |
stock car parts bins. Another |
thing they share is the honor OF |
being among the winners for
two years in the exhausting "a
hour race at LIE Mans, France.
The name Curtis is a familiar
one to race drivers and fans
throughout America. Frank |
Curtis has designed cars ranging
from the big indianapolis bel
lowers to effete custom creations.
One thing they all have in COM
mon: Quality of workmanship
and speed, with a capital S.
Expensive and Fast.
The latest Curtis sports car is
expensive. fast and shows its
track background in its simple.
rugged appearance. It's perform |
ance is terrific. Recently the car |
was timed with a Cadillac engine |
hoped up to 800 horsepower. |
In Just over 10 seconds it |
reached 100 m.p.h. and was pick
ing up speed. For this sort of |
scat. you pay $1,000 But you
have your choice of any Va or
six-cylinder engine.
The Excalibur is another of the
growing list of independents. Al
though not yet In production, the
cars list of wins is impressive.
Like the Curtis, this is a compe-
tition car. The little lady just
doesn't hop in this one to go
buy the groceries.
The Excalibur is made up Of
Henry j and WHY'S parts. Pro-
totypes were powered by Henry
j and WHY'S engines. With an
extremely low over all height, ex-
hauSt headers coming out
through the side Of the hood and
wire wheels, this car has all the
looks of a thoroughbred.
Kaiser Darrin.
The Kaiser-Darrin 116 sports
car was built to compete for
sales with the Corvette and, like
It, is constructed of fiberglaSs.
It's chief features are its doors
which slide fore and aft for
acceSg.