Flightsweep missed the boat

by David Burrell Chrysler ‘s Flightsweep I and Flightsweep II, were as close as the company ever came to creating a competitor to Ford’s fou...

by David Burrell

Chrysler ‘s Flightsweep I and Flightsweep II, were as close as the company ever came to creating a competitor to Ford’s four-seater Thunderbird.

Unveiled on August 16, 1955 the twin concept cars were styled in the USA and built by Ghia in Italy.

The convertible Flightsweep I was painted white and bronze. 

Flightsweep II was a coupe, in aqua and black. 

The seats of the cars were covered in colour-matching leather.

Both predicted Chrysler’s future design themes for 1957, especially the low profiles and towering rear fins.

In fact, the coupe sat 178mm lower that the production Plymouth hardtop coupe.

Chrysler promoted the Flightsweep as having “The Forward Look”.

Riding on a 3.0 metre De Soto chassis, the cars were an impressive 5.3 metres long.

The cars featured some unique design ideas.

The side glass was curved, almost unheard of in 1955, because it was difficult to engineer and manufacture.

The bumper bars were thin and elegant, with a metal valance panel underneath.

By contrast, cars of the 1950s had bumpers that were large and deep.

The valances helped to lower the visual height of the car.

The tops of the front fenders extended beyond the headlights, creating a hooded effect.

Chrysler called this the “clamshell” look. 

The spare wheels were located on the boot lid.

This was a trademark styling motif favoured by the company’s design boss, Virgil Exner.

An eye-catching interior feature was the centre console.

It housed control and the radio, and extended into the back between the rear bucket seats.

The publicity blurb claimed the cars were powered by 4.5-litre V8 engines, with PowerFlite automatic transmission.

There is no evidence they were operable.

Apart from showing the cars around the USA, at automotive shows, dealerships and co-state fairs, Chrysler never gave thought to putting them into production.

But over at Ford, where they’d just released the 1955 two-seat Thunderbird, thoughts were already turning to the idea of a four-seater.

It arrived in 1958.

And one of its key features was the extended centre console that housed controls.

It was an opportunity Chrysler missed, and never matched.

David Burrell is the editor of retroautos

Flighsweep I

 

Flightsweep II

 

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