Top 10 American concept cars of the 60s

As part of our ongoing review of the most beloved concept cars of all time, here are our favorites from American automakers of the 1960s :

10. 1964 GM Runabout Displayed at the 1964 General Motors Futurama show, the Runabout was a compact three-wheeled car designed for shopping and short-distance commuting. Among the vehicle’s features are a sliding roof for easy entry and exit, and the shopping cart can roll right into a wide slot in the rear of the vehicle.–

1964 GM Runabout– 9. 1961 Ford Gyron The Gyron is so quirky you have to love it. Not only does the Gyron have two seats, it also only has two wheels and will have to rely on some kind of gyroscope device to maintain balance. If such a system worked, the car could lean like a motorcycle when turning. The design includes small and retractable safety wheels to enable parking.–

Ford Gyron 1961

8. 1962 Ford Seattle-ite XXI Oh the weirdos from Ford… The Seattle-ite XXI was built for the Seattle World’s Fair and was a six-wheeler, with twin axles at the front, which someone thought will help with steering, traction and braking by having four wheels do the usual work of two. The vehicle’s unusual feature is that it is designed to accept basic plug-in power supplies, from conventional gasoline engines to gas turbines or even nuclear generators.–

1962 Ford Seattle-ite XXI1962 Ford Seattle-ite XXI[/caption] – 7. 1969 Chrysler Concept 70X This large sedan attracted attention because of its doors. On the passenger side there is a large door that slides open like those on modern minivans. On the driver’s side there are two doors that open with special parallelogram hinges and thus open parallel to the side of the car. Safety is a design theme and the rearview mirror has a near traffic warning system.–

1969 70X Chrysler Concept

6. 1961-62 Chrysler Turbine Chrysler actually built 50 of these cars and delivered them to private owners on public roads. The vehicles are equipped with aircraft-style gas turbine engines. The concept was intended to demonstrate the practicality of an alternative to the piston-driven internal combustion engine. The 50 cars have been driven more than one million miles and the surviving cars are highly prized by classic car collectors.

1961-62 Chrysler Turbines– click here for more information.

5. 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT Take the basic but improved Chevrolet Corvair but give it a very European exotic bodywork and you have the Monza, which actually came in SS and GT forms. The GT has a dome-style roof that is hinged forward to provide access to the passenger compartment. The entire rear of the vehicle is also hinged at the rear to provide access to the engine. The SS was a convertible roadster with a very short windshield only on the driver’s side.

Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT 1962

4. 1967 and 1969 Astro General Motors made a series of Astro concepts from 1967 to 1969. Each was a low-slung sports car. The Astro I and II were launched in 1967. The Astro I was less than a foot tall, had no doors – a rear-hinged rear deck extended over the passenger compartment, and the driver had a roof-mounted rearview mirror to See what was behind. The Astro II had a slightly more conventional design, although it had a V8 instead of an air-cooled six. The Astro III debuted in 1969 and had a very unusual architecture with three wheels, one front wheel for steering and two rear wheels set into side fenders suspended on either side of the fuselage containing the machine-style gas turbine engine. fly.

1967 Chevrolet Astro I

Chevrolet Astro II 1968

Chevrolet Astro III 1969

3. 1962 Ford Mustang Although not as stylish as the Cougar 406, 1963 Cougar II or 1965 XP Borderat Cobra that followed, the 1962 Mustang concept was more significant: It made its first public appearance at a race 1962 US Grand Prix driven by Dan Gurney. around the Watkins Glen racetrack. The two-seat, rear-engine roadster was designed to be a road-going version of the Ford GT40 race car. Although the car did not enter production, its name was used for a 1964 ½ model that met with some success.

1962 Ford Mustang 2. 1960 Plymouth The XNR car is a sleek sports machine and would have been Chrysler’s answer to the Corvette had it gone into production. The car’s most notable design feature is a high rear end that emerges from behind the driver and also serves as an anti-roll bar. Perhaps less noticeable at first glance is the fact that although the car can seat two people, it is designed primarily for solo driving, with a wraparound windshield protecting only the passenger side drive. Another cool feature is the holster-style glove compartment that can be removed and used as a shoulder bag.

1960 Plymouth XNR– click here for more information

1. 1965 Chevrolet Mako Shark Chevrolet made two Mako Shark concepts in the mid-1960s. Each was essentially a redesigned Corvette. ’65 Shark II gets my vote as #1 of the decade not because it was actually the most interesting concept car of its time, but because when I saw it, I simply loved the shape The car’s shark-like look and especially its shark-like paint job are almost white along with the rocker panels but then turn dark gray and almost jet black once you reach the roof.