Sometimes your wallet won’t stretch to purchasing your dream motor. But don’t worry too much, there are some cars that even the biggest bank balances can’t buy, the dream cars that will forever remain a dream. These are the concept cars that never go into production.
Buick Wildcat II
The concept of concept cars themselves owe much to the design studio of Buick and in particular famed innovator, Harley Earl. The company had debuted the Y-Job in 1938, a vehicle which set the template for many cars during the 1940s and 50s, so when the 50s actually arrived, Buick set to creating vehicles of the future once again.
Buick have used the ‘Wildcat’ marque for a range of concept cars during their illustrious history, but it is the 1954 Wildcat II which surely lives up to the name.
Harley Earl’s dreamcar looks wild, with teeth that bite. The Wildcat II was built to be showcased at the 1954 Motorama and certainly wowed the crowds with an all fibreglass body allowing it to create some glorious shapes. The exotic chrome bumper incorporated ‘floating’ driving lights, while the fenders were replaced with what was described as a full-width clamshell hood, covering the wheels when closed. These ‘flying-wing’ fenders exposed the front wheel and also part of the front-end suspension.
Co-designed by Buick’s Ned Nichols, he described the Wildcat II as an ‘American adventure in tomorrow’s design’. Whilst the Wildcat II may have been a little too revolutionary to be adopted by designers of the next two decades, it certainly left a mark on the industry and though only one was ever produced, the Wildcat II is regarded as one of the most iconic concepts to debut during the Motorama era.