5 Of The Most Beautiful American Cars From The '50s (And 5 European Ones We'd Rather Drive)
By: Gian Matteo Sacchetti (HotCars)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
5 Of The Most Beautiful American Cars From The '50s (And 5 European Ones We'd Rather Drive)
From Italy to England and Germany, there are countless examples that show that the American automotive industry still had a lot of catching up to do.
Before the era of muscle cars and way before the era of turbos, the post-war American industry blessed us with some of the coolest models ever seen on a road. Some of these cars are recognized as works of art thanks to their flawless designs. These are all American icons and no one can take that away from them.
However, on the other side of the ocean, the 1950s were a true golden era for European manufacturers as they created cars that are worth millions today and are truly considered the benchmark of beauty. From Italy to England and Germany, there are countless examples of gorgeous classic cars that show that the American automotive industry still had a lot of catching up to do.
10 Chevrolet Corvette
The Corvette dynasty started in 1953 when Chevy unveiled to the world one of the most beautiful cars ever seen on a road. The C1 is the first attempt by an American manufacturer to create a sporty two-seater and try to rival the European brands.
The first model was manufactured with an inline-six and the public had to wait until 1955 to see the Corvette powered by a 4.3-liter small-block V8 that produced a fantastic 195 horsepower. The C1 is certainly considered one of the most iconic cars from the 1950s.
9 Ford Thunderbird
The first generation of the Thunderbird was in production from 1955 until 1957 and unlike the Corvette, it was marketed as a luxury car and not a sports one. The Ford was powered by a 4.8-liter V8 that delivered 214 horsepower.
The interesting aspect of this car is that it was extremely light and considerably powerful for the era but Ford always said that the focus of the car was comfort and not speed. The Thunderbird has to be considered a success for Ford as the model ultimately spanned eleven generations.
8 Cadillac Coupe de Ville
The first generation of this iconic all-American beauty came at the very end of the decade in 1959 and lasted only until 1960. However, those few months were enough for everyone to simply fall in love with its peculiar design. The de Ville was larger than life being one of the biggest sedans on the market at the time.
Its back fins and smooth design made this model one of the most successful ones in the history of the company. The de Ville was powered by a beefy 6.4-liter V8 that produced 325 horsepower, just enough to move all that weight.
7 Cadillac Series 62
The third generation of the Series 62 was in production until 1953 and what made it absolutely stunning was the fact that it was a mixture of a late '40s and early '50s design. A bulky but sinuous design that is simply fantastic to look at. A Cadillac Series 62 is now worth over $100,000.
This beauty was powered by a 5.4-liter V8 that produced a respectable 160 horsepower. The convertible segment was one of the most amazing models on the road in those years.
6 Ford F-100
The second generation of the F-100 can arguably be considered the most iconic and beautiful pickup ever made. The F-100 is also one of the sturdiest trucks ever made. The most powerful version of the Ford packed a 5.9-liter V8 that produced an incredible 300 horsepower.
The F-100 is the best-selling and longest-running line of trucks in the world and the early 1950s versions are heavily sought-after. The 1956 version of the F-100 is certainly the most beautiful of all thanks to its unique design.
5 Porsche 356 Speedster
Also known as the 356 America Speedster, this Porsche is one of the most fun cars that you could buy in the 1950s. The car, as the name suggests, was meant to be extremely quick. The 356 was powered by an air-cooled 1.6-liter inline-four-cylinder engine that produced about 60 horsepower but could push the car to a top speed of 100 mph.
The car was basically stripped of all the luxuries to make the car very light and also cheap. In fact, a 356 in 1954 was worth about $3,000 and weighed about 1,750 lbs.
4 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Passo Corto
That mouthful of a name just means 'shorter wheelbase' 250 GTO and it is one of the most breath-taking creations by the engineers in Maranello. The GTO was unveiled to the world in 1959 at the Paris Motor Show. The car was powered by the iconic 3.0-liter V12 Colombo that produced around 280 horsepower and could push the Ferrari to a top speed of 166 mph.
This model had been designed by the legendary couch-builder Pininfarina, who truly created a masterpiece. This was one of those cars that combined supreme beauty with outstanding power.
3 Aston Martin DB4
In 1958 Aston Martin unveiled its most iconic model ever, the DB4, also known as the James Bond mobile. This Aston Martin not only is one of the most beautiful cars from the 1950s, but it's also one of the greatest British cars ever made.
This grand tourer was in production until 1963 and it was powered by a 3.7-liter inline-six-cylinder that produced 240 horsepower and could push the classy DB4 to a top speed of 140 mph. This Aston Martin, which is now worth millions of dollars in 1958, originally cost less than $10,000.
2 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
The coupe version of the 300 SL was in production from 1954 until 1957 when Mercedes decided to only produce roadster models. The 300 SL is famous throughout the whole world thanks to its unique design that included the peculiar gull wings. When Mercedes created the 300 SL, it was the fastest car in the whole world.
This coupe was powered by a 3.0-liter straight-six cylinder engine that generated 215 horsepower and could push the car to a top speed of 155 mph. The 300 SL was so fast because it was based on the W194, which won the legendary endurance race of Le Mans.
1 BMW 507
This roadster is one of the rarest cars ever made as only 252 units have been produced. This BMW was in production from 1956 until 1960. This car from a design and technical point of view was marvelous. The 507 was powered by a 3.2-liter V8 that produced 150 horsepower and could push the car to a top speed of 122 mph.
The only problem with this BMW is that it was extremely expensive at the time and almost pushed the German automaker to the brink of bankruptcy. Despite being highly unpopular, the BMW 507 is rightfully one of the most beautiful cars made in the '50s.
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Two things to note here:
1) Every author makes choices based on their own personal taste, so any other list made by a different author is bound to be different.
2) The list consists ONLY of cars produced during the 1950s, even if cars produced during other decades may be even more beautiful.
Now, given these 10 possibilities, if you could own one, but only one, of the cars listed above, which one would you choose, and WHY would you choose that one?
I would consider the BMW, being the rarest to find, could be the most valuable, but I like the looks of the Corvette the most.
Big, beautiful and built for American roads.
If those were the criteria, then I suppose the Cadillacs would be your choice.
It would be. I had an uncle who was an undertaker and he had at least 3, in black of course. Another car I recall was that of the old neighborhood bookmaker: A Crysler Imperial. I haven't forgotten how big that was.
When I was 16 I drove with my parents to a hotel in Miami Beach (in my dad's 1952 Hudson Hornet exactly like the one at the bottom of this page). The owner of the hotel took a liking to me, and asked me to drive his 1953 Chrysler Imperial sedan to pick up his niece at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach and bring her back to his hotel. I realized later that he was trying to set up a relationship between her and me. He was successful. She and I became very good friends, and corresponded (snail mail back then) and she sent me a book called "Understanding the Americans". I wonder what's become of her.
These cars we love so much were part of an era when American automakers were regarded as America's most important corporations. It was Alfred P Sloan at General Motors who first introduced the idea of cars being part of a status symbol. Each model that GM produced was supposed to be the ideal car for a certain set of people. Cadillac being at the top and Buick being for the professional and Chevy being the everyman etc, etc.
The other thing about these cars is what you are describing in the above post. They all are attached to memories for us.
Well, I've had a Cadillac and I've had a Buick and the Canadian made Pontiacs I've had were actually more like Chevys than they were like American Pontiacs, so I guess I've covered the waterfront.
You sure did and it was the best part.
My father owned a 1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, which was identical to the 1959 one pictured save that the tail fins were modified to look much more dignified.
I can't help but point out that at least a couple of these cars show up in movies that I've seen. The 1953 Cadillac convertible is like the one driven by Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor) as she drove past hitchhiking George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) in the movie A Place in the Sun, and of course everyone knows that the Aston Martin DB4 is the James Bond car.
I just realized, the 1960 Cadillac is actually a 1959 car, because American car manufacturers identify their models by a year before that year happens. My 1959 Pontiac convertible was bought during the summer of 1958.
If I had to choose from the listed cars, I'd pick the Thunderbird. For me, the hardtop gives it an edge over the Vette.
The Mercedes 300 SL is pretty cool, too. I'm surprised the Chevrolet Bel-air isn't on the list. Others that I would pick would be:
Buick Wildcat (distinctive rear end, too)
Nash 2 door coupe (Statesman?)
Nash Healey
International Harvester (the styling changed in 1957 to a more modern look)
That certainly brings back some memories, especially the Vette and T-Bird.
If you had the choice, which one would you pick?
I think that I'd go with T Bird but it would be a tough decision.
In my case it was a toss-up between the Corvette and the T-Bird, but I made my choice.
All are nice and a 57 Chevy should also be considered
Totally agree.
And you can't forget the "Big Healey"
I kind of like the '56 a little more.
Definately the Passo Corto for me (followed by the 307 and then the DB4), the reason is I like how they look. It's all moot anyway as I couldn't afford any of them and even if I could I wouldn't be able to get into them
One of my best friends and law school classmates was devoted to T-Birds, and it's amazing but he was able to get into a T-Bird.
The only vehicle from the 1950s was a 1959 Dodge pickup with a flat bed, it was 14 years old when I got it
Should I assume that you mean it is the only vehicle from the 1950s that you owned?
In my case, it could be a used 2-year old1950 Ford Custom Coach that my father bought to be shared by my older brother and me (so we wouldn't drive HIS cars) and the brand new 1959 Pontiac Parisienne convertible my father gave me as a university graduation present when I got my B.A.
Definitely the F100, cause it's a truck. But thinking about driving that Italian redhead does get the blood pumping...
My dad had a 55 Thunderbird that had a hardtop that could be removed. It was identical to the one in the article. Ford may have said that the focus of the car was comfort and not speed, but dad bought it for the speed. He lost his license for 18 months and was fined $1500 after being clocked at 150 mph. This was in 1959 when I-91 ended at the Massachusetts border with Connecticut. The cops couldn't catch him, the end of the interstate made him stop as roadblocks were setup him forcing him to pullover.
When I was discharged from the Air Force in 1970 a friend was being transferred to Andrews AFB in Washington DC, he had two cars, one was a 56 Corvette. He asked if I wanted to drive his Vette to DC since he was traveling with his wife in his other car, of course I took him up on the offer. He said I could take my time, just wanted me to call his dad every other day to let him know where I was. I had a blast in his Vette seeing the sites in several states, it took me 17 days to travel from Mississippi to Washington DC, yup, I took my time
Thanks for the goodtime I had in your Vette Ken Bush where ever you are.
Correction: It was a 1958 Corvette, not a 1956.
Note to Norm L: The Nash 2 door coupe is UGLY.
Actually the Nash looks a little like the 1952 Hudson Hornet my father had. I thought it looked pretty good at the time, and now I think it resembled a lot of the new cars today.