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The Fifties had been a golden age for cars, mixing luxurious and efficiency in glossy, sporty two-door vehicles that formed the way forward for automobile design. This decade noticed the rise of highly effective V8 engines, wraparound windshields that problem right this moment’s glass restore specialists, and the unforgettable space-age tail fins.
If you happen to’re a brand new automobile fanatic, the ‘50s are a decade you might want to know. Inquisitive about which legends would possibly roll into your native traditional automobile present this season? Take a look at our listing of Fifties vehicles each new automobile fanatic ought to find out about, and prepare to impress with the must-know details each true fan ought to have.
Our Choice Course of
With hundreds of fashions produced worldwide within the Fifties, how did we select which of them deserve a spot on this listing? Easy — author favoritism. Simply kidding (largely).
Whereas this listing is subjective, it’s based mostly on years of expertise within the collector automobile public sale scene, the place I’ve watched hundreds of classics cross the block and had conversations with lovers from each the period and right this moment. The reality is, automobile accumulating, exhibits, and the automotive world as an entire are constructed on ardour and private choice — which is what makes all of it so thrilling.
There aren’t any proper or unsuitable solutions, and if it had been as much as me, this listing could be 100 vehicles lengthy, filled with deserving classics. However let’s be actual: most individuals don’t have time to learn all that. So, I’ve narrowed it right down to a few of my private favourite vehicles you may even see at a neighborhood automobile present or cruising down the highway on an ideal Sunday.
Chevrolet Corvette C1
The Chevrolet Corvette has been an American favourite for many years, with over a million produced — the official millionth rolled off the manufacturing line in 1992, in keeping with the historic automotive chronicle This Day in Automotive Historical past. With a long time of generations, particular anniversary editions, trim ranges, and an entire revision to mid-engine with the most recent C8, we are able to’t overlook about the place it began: the C1.
Launched in 1953, the primary era of Chevrolet Corvette featured an modern fiberglass physique, which was revolutionary on the time. Imagine it or not, this iconic American sports activities automobile began life with an inline-6 engine often called the Blue Flame, and in keeping with Automotive and Driver, it didn’t see the set up of the long-lasting V8 engine lovers have identified and cherished till 1955.
Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird was my dream automobile from a younger age. Seeing many variations through the years, this sports activities automobile was a direct response to the Chevy Corvette C1. Launched in 1955, the preliminary design for the Thunderbird was a 2-seater passenger automobile with a canvas drop prime, an Interceptor V8 engine, and a purpose weight of two,525 kilos, in keeping with Ford’s data.
Whereas the Corvette was designed for efficiency and elegance and marketed as a sports activities automobile, Ford says the Thunderbird was initially marketed as a sporty passenger automobile, giving it an edge in a brand new market phase as a accountable selection with some efficiency in addition. Even to today, followers of the automobile concur that Ford made the correct advertising and marketing transfer within the r/classiccars Reddit Discussion board.
Aston Martin DB4
Taking a step again from American rivalry, you’ll discover a automobile that hasn’t been forgotten by lovers however managed to slide by the cracks for a lot of — the Aston Martin DB4. Whereas it got here alongside a lot later within the Fifties, Aston Martin says this 3.7-liter straight-six-toting sports activities automobile featured an aluminum over a tubular body building, and its design options have carried on to right this moment’s Aston Martin fashions.
Whereas we received’t declare that the DB4 has been lengthy forgotten, it was simply overshadowed when the DB5 appeared in a film that includes a suave worldwide spy named James Bond. The Aston’s position in Goldfinger ultimately led to a legacy of James Bond-driven Aston Martin vehicles.
Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz
In 1959, Cadillac produced a restricted run of sporty-looking convertible vehicles — the Eldorado Biarritz. Iconic for its massive rear fins that marked so many vehicles of this decade, the Biarritz leaned extra into luxurious than a few of the different two-door choices on this listing. In reality, it was the producer’s flagship convertible, loaded with customary tools.
True Cadillac lovers by no means forgot about this automobile, nevertheless it’s truthful to say it was misplaced in time attributable to low manufacturing numbers. RM Sotheby’s experiences that only one,320 examples had been in-built 1959, and whereas we are able to solely guess what number of are nonetheless on the highway right this moment, there are definitely fewer than there as soon as had been.
Lotus Elite
The Lotus model appears to slide between the cracks of most modern-day automobile house owners, however we are able to’t overlook in regards to the Fifties Lotus Elite, and if you happen to’re confused, you’re not alone. The Elite noticed two generations in very completely different a long time, with the extra generally acknowledged variation in manufacturing from 1974 to 1982, designated the Lotus Elite Sort 75/83.
The unique Lotus Elite, nevertheless, was given the marker Sort 14, with manufacturing years spanning 1957 by 1963. Far much less in style than the opposite British icon on this listing (the DB4), the Elite by no means had a declare to fame in popular culture. Nonetheless, it did carry out effectively in motorsports attributable to its light-weight building. Hagerty says the fiberglass monocoque designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman was the primary of its sort.
Ford Fairlane
The Ford Fairlane was one other space-age-designed magnificence. Marked by lengthy tailfins, dual-tone paint, and chrome detailing, the Fairlane was a well-liked selection for a lot of in that decade and nonetheless is for collectors right this moment. Based on Traditional Industries, one of many main restoration elements firms, the Fairlane was made much more attention-grabbing due to new know-how and options, like the primary mass-produced retractable hardtop.
Obtainable as a two-door or four-door with choices for a straight-six engine or purchaser’s selection of three V8 choices, together with the flexibility to pick a three-speed Fordomatic or a three-speed handbook transmission, one may argue that a part of the Fairlane’s rise to recognition was due to the entire obtainable variations that would work with completely different life and driving experiences.
Buick Skylark
The Buick Skylark was on no account a automobile left behind by time, as its manufacturing spanned a number of a long time and hundreds of vehicles. The model created within the Fifties is arguably the perfect of the bunch. Based on GM, it was based mostly on the Buick Roadmaster chassis, and the Skylark was a centerpiece for Buick’s fiftieth anniversary.
It was powered by the model’s first “fashionable” manufacturing V8 engine, giving it efficiency that would parallel the competitors, such because the C1 Corvette and Thunderbird, who additionally began to undertake V8 engines throughout this decade. Styling-wise, the Skylark featured a low stance, sporty two-door configuration, House Age tailfins, and chrome accents.
Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
Produced between 1954 and 1963, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is cherished for its design, model, and, in fact, the gullwing doorways, which had been born out of necessity quite than simply model — however we aren’t complaining. The spaceframe chassis, whereas weighing solely 50 kilograms, gave the automobile distinctive rigidity however didn’t go away sufficient house for conventional doorways. Therefore, the roof-mounted gullwing doorways had been born.
Simply on styling alone, the 300SL Gullwing is a dream for a lot of collectors, commanding huge cash at auctions like Barrett-Jackson, the place one bought for $3.4 million on the 2024 Scottsdale Public sale.
Jaguar XK120
Hagerty calls the Jaguar XK120 “a revolutionary sports activities automobile,” with know-how and engineering that took the automobile as much as 120 mph — the quickest manufacturing automobile of the time when it was launched in 1949, when the automobile was produced with a 3.4-liter dual-overhead-cam, inline six-cylinder wrapped in an alloy physique. Within the Fifties, Jaguar went into full manufacturing, switching to a metal sheet steel physique.
It got here in variations just like the Fastened Head Coupé, Roadster, and Drop Head Coupé, all sporting the identical elongated entrance finish and lowered stance. Its look is drastically completely different from these of the opposite British vehicles on this listing, the Aston Martin DB4 and Lotus Elite, however Jaguar offers us a robust selection. Jaguar Heritage experiences that simply over 12,000 had been constructed throughout its manufacturing run, with a majority within the US market.
Porsche 356 Speedster
Many would think about a number of Porsches all through historical past to be extremely collectible, and the Porsche 356 Speedster is not any exception. Constructed from 1954 to 1959, solely 4,144 vehicles had been produced. It got here outfitted with a 1.6-liter flat-four engine, and whereas that supplied roughly 75 hp, mixed with the light-weight physique and nimble dealing with, the 356 supplied a spirited drive.
Reproductions of the Porsche 356 Speedster could be discovered on the highway right this moment, and also you’ll need to have a eager eye to decipher whether or not the one at your native automobile present is the actual deal or not.
The Finish of an Period
Whereas these vehicles turn out to be much less frequent with age attributable to accidents, pricey repairs, and upkeep, the Fifties set the stage for automotive traits we might come to know and love for many years.
Whether or not it was the primary of a protracted lineage of sports activities vehicles or a second in time, these Fifties vehicles nonetheless flip heads on the highway and at automobile exhibits right this moment. Do you have got a favourite I missed? Tell us on social media!
