1953 Chevrolet Corvette
Designed to woo returned American servicemen who fell under the spell of Jaguars, MGs and Triumphs during their World War II service in Europe, the Chevrolet Corvette was the first proper American sports car. And its primacy simply cannot be overstated.
The Corvette was invented in 1951 by GM designer Harley Earl, who was inspired by the great European sports cars of the day and wanted to create an American sports car that could compete and win at the race track. The name "Corvette" was borrowed from a line of small, fast navy ships used in World War II.
Pontiac Bonneville
Renowned GM designer Harley Earl was inspired by a trip to the Bonneville salt flats. He wanted to create a car which captured the essence of the Bonneville racers and show the public that Pontiac was leading the industry in innovative thinking.
Designed as Pontiac's answer to the Chevrolet Corvette, the flashy 1954 Bonneville Special conveys a look of high speed. Following the trend of jet-age styling, the Bonneville features a distinctive aircraft-style Plexiglas bubble top with gull-wing glass door tops over the cockpit and the a radical continental kit, designed to look like a jet turbine.
Only two of these cars were built so they could be displayed simultaneously at the Los Angeles and Detroit Auto Shows. After touring the country for spectators to see, Motorama concept cars were typically destroyed. However, these two Pontiacs somehow avoided their date with the crusher and survived.
Pontiac Solstice Book Gary Witzenburg
Portrait of the Artist.
Franz Von Holzhausen was inspired by yearly pilgramages to Pebble Beach and Monterey Historics Races every year with a bunch of friends, camp out at Turn Six and wake up to the cars going WHOO, WHOO out on the track. It's cold on those mornings, and looking down, the track is right there, and the cars are very visible. It's great fun, very cool, It's a tradition.
I came back to our California studio inspired by walking around the pits and seeing some of the classic cars--not as pieces of jewelry out on a lawn but in the environment where they really shine--on the track, the dirt and grime and the smell of oil and gasoline.
I'm talking E-Types Jags, Cheetahs, RSKs, early Ferraris.