The next car to impact Exner’s thinking was the most radical expression of the
aerodynamic studies then germinating in Italian design and European competition. On
the Alfa Romeo stand was a study on the chassis of a 1900 Sprint. Alfa’s coupe chassis had
been transformed by Bertone’s visionary designer, Franco Scaglione. The car was
appropriately named Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica number 5; forever to be known as
BAT 5. This was not an exercise in self-indulgent excess, this was a dynamic study of fins
as aerodynamic relevance, defining the wedge shape of an entire car.
These were not three obscure Italian cars on display at an out-of-the-way autoshow. The
Turin show, along with Paris, were the premier autoshows of the fifties. Harley Earl stood
with Bill Mitchell over these cars. Virgil Exner and Serge were crosstown coachbuilders.
These cars represented a dramatic new direction in body design. They also signaled the
end of an era. The bulbous body panel shapes of the previous decade were being swept
away. Sharper, cleaner, more dynamic contemporary designs were coming to the fore.
Exner had not missed the point. He was presented with some unusual choices in the
complete make over of the ’55 line-up. Primarily, how far could he take the company’s
cars out of the box. Here was a company whose cars had been traditionally designed by
body engineers, and had not changed appreciably since 1946. Whatever Exner chose to
do would be a dramatic change, and with Ford having passed Chrysler in sales, of critical
importance to the company.
Exner and his team chose some basic tenets for the entire line. One was a complete re-
proportion of the cars. As starting points the bodies were lowered while glass areas was
increased. Then much like Pinin’s Lancia PF 200, the headlights formed the leading edge
of the front fenders; this formed the basis for the clean, unified crest line that followed the
front fender, to window sills, ending at the rear fenders. The contemporary proportions of
the straight fender design were completed by the hood and trunk being on the same plane
as the fenders. On the Chrysler and Dodge cars a split grill design was chosen, echoing
the Scaglione designs. Plymouth and Desoto were given a single grill. It was the
Plymouth that gave a suggestion of things to come from Chrysler. While the headlights
were on the leading edge of the fender, they were slightly recessed beneath a sheet metal
hood that formed a dynamic rearward angle leading to the bumper line. This arrow shape
was echoed by the chrome and two-tone detailing on the side.
Chrysler’s Forward Look ad campaign was more than a good copy line. The cars
themselves seemed to be angled forward into a new future for the company. Standing still
they seemed to be moving. The impact was immediate. Showroom traffic increased
immediately with their release, and the order books quickly filled.
Exner had peeled away the staid and boring sheet metal of Highland Park’s cars, to
reveal the sheer performance of the hemi. More was to come.
IV
The ’55 Chrysler line-up had been a revelation. The engineers, who had been reticent
about Exner’s influence, suddenly appreciated that the new contemporary body styles had
transformed the company’s image. The previously staid bodywork having effectively
hidden the engineering beneath. Now Exner’s bodies clearly portrayed the hemi’s
performance engineering. One model in particular was to cement the company’s new
performance reputation: the Chrysler 300. For this flagship model of the new line-up, the
engineers had modified the hemi to produce 300hp, thus the name. With 300 horsepower
it was hailed as the most powerful car built in America. It was about to prove it.
In February as part of speed week, all the major manufacturers converged on Ormond
Beach Florida. Since 1903 this had been the site of many Land Speed Records. Now
America’s 1955 models were about to go head to head to prove whose ‘stock’ products
were indeed the fastest. In an official timed two way run the new 300 set the production
car record at 127.58. Impressive numbers for a 4,340-pound coupe in stock trim.
Exner had been given a short window, eighteen months, for design & development of
the ’55 model line up. This meant that Highland Park’s cars on the showroom floor for 55,
and the basically unaltered 56 models, had come from designs penned in ’53. Though a
dramatic change for the company and its dealers, Exner had actually held back on the
changes he foresaw for the new Chryslers. While the new look Chryslers were rolling off
the showroom floors and dealers lots in ‘55, Exner took the bold step of once again
completely revamping the company’s cars. These cars, to appear as the ’57 models, would
embody the full force of his vision.
