Chrysler’s answer to the Corvette was the Plymouth Belmont

0 0 July 31, 2024 Edit this post

by David Burrell

As soon as he saw the Chevrolet Corvette “dream car” at GM’s 1953 Motorama, Chrysler boss, KT Keller, suspected that it was more than a dream car.

And he was right.

The Corvette appeared in dealerships in June of 1953.

Not wanting to be left behind, Keller instigated a secret project to develop a two-seater competitor.

This car would become the Plymouth Belmont.

To get the job done, Keller by-passed his own design studios, and instructed Briggs body builders, who made all the bodies for Chrysler cars, to design and build the Belmont from as many production parts as possible.

Chrysler’s contract with Briggs, stipulated they had to do this kind of work for free.

That would have been a very attractive to always cost-conscious Keller.

To match the Corvette, Keller insisted the Belmont’s body be made of fibreglass.

New to this technology, Briggs created many small fibreglass panels and glued them together.

It was unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show in March 1954 and hailed as “Plymouth’s Brilliant New Sport Car.”

Unlike most concept cars, the Belmont was fully operational.

Its engine was the company’s new 241 cubic inch/3.9 litre V8, making the Belmont the first Plymouth branded car to have a V8.

Motoring pundits predicted it would be in Plymouth showrooms for the 1955 model year.

When the car was first shown it was painted light metallic blue.

Despite the favourable publicity it attracted, the Belmont was never put into production.

Chrysler’s shrinking sales and market share in the early 1950s meant it had to focus its money and resources on its mainstream cars.

The Belmont was a nice to have and the initial lacklustre sales of the Corvette reinforced the decision not to proceed with a two seater sporty car.

After its tour of the 1954 auto show circuit the Belmont was used as an operational prop in the film “Bundle of Joy, starring Debbie Reynolds and then husband Eddie Fisher.

Other film credits include the 1956 film Hollywood Or Bust with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, the 1957 films Mister Cory and The Tattered Dress, and the 1958 Kathy O'.

Unlike most concept cars, the Belmont survived being destroyed.

It went through many owners and a change of colour until being fully restored in 2001 while in the Blackhawk Collection.

It is now in private hands.

While the Belmont might have never been a sales winner for Chrysler, Chrysler’s design boss, Virgil Exner was also working on another concept that had significant potential.

This was a four-seater convertible called the Dodge Granada.

It appeared in October 1954, and, had Chrysler productized it, it would have beaten Ford’s four-seater Thunderbird to the market by three years.

A big opportunity lost.

You can read all about the Granada, a forgotten dream car, in another of my columns.

David Burrell is the editor of retroautos