Notifications
Clear all
Forum 24
11
Posts
8
Users
32
Reactions
378
Views
Topic starter
20/04/2025 2:48 pm
The 1951 General Motors Le Sabre convertible concept car made quite a splash at the New York Auto Show and its image popped up everywhere. Harley Earl's creation offered quite a departure from current design and technology. From the look of the car was like nothing ever seen before the cyclopean nose to the soon the be ubiquitous tail fins. When Earl was asked about the fins being purely for show, Earl revealed their utility: each fin contained a 20 gallon rubberized aircraft fuel cell! The technology began with a small block 215 cid aluminum supercharged V8 with a rear Dynaflow transaxle. Other advanced feature included a 12v electrical system, heated seats, twin headlamps concealed in a jet type intake, "Dagmar" bumper guards and electric lifting jacks incorporated into the body. This Motorama concept was so popular that it spawned not only a whole range of plastic, tin type and friction motor toys, but even the Soviet Union built the look alike, the ZIL-112/1 called the "Cyclops" that debuted the same year that was also V8 powered and ran in many competitive events showcasing Soviet prowess in automotive design (thanks to government censorship of all things from the West}.
Franklin Mint's Le Sabre model is rife with old tech and virtually all the lighting merely painted rather than lensed, it was kind of disappointing. That said, it's still the only 1/24 diecast in existence. FM hinted at more Motorama concepts to come but that never happened. If you're looking outside this scale, Minichamps did a nice curbside in both 1/18 and 1/43.
20/04/2025 5:20 pm
@carsman1958 Same here John, I plan on adding it someday. Fantastic info and pics Rich.💯😎
20/04/2025 6:03 pm
took me a while to find a MIB example at a decent price. Despite old tech still a fascinating car and model. Would loved to have seen FM do more concepts. That Soviet version is remarkable. I knew nothing about it. Will follow up for my own interest. Thanks Rich
21/04/2025 2:10 am
The front fender design cues were incorporated into the '58 Buick
Tony Perrone and Geno reacted
21/04/2025 2:32 am
@rich-sufficool thanks Rich, I had no idea of how extensive, diverse and in many instances original Soviet car design/production was. Many vehicles were amazing but I reckon we could almost see this taxi concept on the road now.
"Combining futuristic and vintage aesthetics, the VNIITE-PT featured a practical, spacious cab-forward layout. Although it never progressed to production, the VNIITE-PT encapsulated the visionary aspirations of Soviet designers during the 1960s."
For anyone else interested this video gives a great overview of this taxi at the 15 minute mark, while featuring a number of other fascinating vehicles
Tony Perrone and Geno reacted
21/04/2025 8:10 am
Great writeup Rich. I have had this model since it was introduced. While the model is old school, to me the subject matter is so important that the image has to be included in my collection. One detail seldom know about the model is that the headlights can be seen by clicking on the nose pod.
Topic starter
21/04/2025 10:54 am
@bob-jackman Yep, that faux intake flips to reveal twin headlamps. I was so disappointed in those two painted blobs, I didn't bother to photograph them.
Geoff Jowett and John Napoli reacted
21/04/2025 6:06 pm
A good model but FM could have done so much more with it. Another instance where they did it on the cheap and made shortcuts. With that said, this is still a significant model to have, and I am happy that I have one.
John Merritt
South Lyon, Michigan - USA
Geoff Jowett reacted