Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles

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The realization of the Ghia Barchetta so enthused the sports car fans among Ford Europe's management that the intention to use it only internally as a demonstration was rethought and it was publicly displayed in 1983 as a concept illustrating the versatility of Ford's FWD powertrain and chassis components. At least some enthusiasts felt the same, starting a "Barchetta Club" in Germany which counted as many as 10,000 members but still not enough support to find Ghia Barchetta a home in Europe. Built as an operating concept, Ghia Barchetta has a fully functional cloth soft top and rides on 13" cast alloy wheels with 185/60HR-13 Goodyear NCT tires. Ghia's strength among Ford's several design studios was its ability, in a very short period, to construct a functional concept, very close to the production realization. Ghia Barchetta demonstrates that capability.

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Presented here in its original silver livery with two-tone grey cloth interior, Ghia Barchetta is showing its age. The exterior finish is in good condition but the interior shows the effects of its-life as a demonstrator for the proposition that a sporty convertible could be created on existing components. The driver's seat back bolster, particularly, is worn through from repeated entry and exit. The Ghia Barchetta concept bodywork is exceptional, functioning well and displaying even panel gaps and smooth panels that would be enviable on a restored car, much less on one that has seen potentially exhaustive use as a concept demonstrator and show car. In 1989 Mazda (now a Ford affiliate) introduced the Miata 2-seater based upon the 323 sedan. It was a runaway sales success and inspired a number of competitors. Ghia's little Barchetta was just a little too early to catch the wave.

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1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone Sportster Concept


Mercury Comet Cyclone Sportster Concept, 1965. A customized Comet designed by Mercury and built by Gene Winfield. The Cyclone Speedster used the wrist-twist steering system Ford was experimenting with at the time.

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Mercury Comet Escapade, 1966

This dream car was a high-performance roadster. George Barris customized this Comet in six weeks. The car was shortened sixteen inches and featured custom sheet metal, sequential turn signals, white leather interior, and pearlescent blue paint.

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1954 Mercury XM-800

Ford Motor concept car. Designed in the Mercury pre-production studio by John Najjar (studio manager) and Elwood Engle (consultant assigned to Ford by George Walker"s design firm). Built for Ford by Creative Industries, Detroit, it was first shown to the public at the 1954 Detroit Auto Show.

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Promoted as an "advanced design, engineered to go into volume production" , Benson Ford proposed building the XM 800 as a second Mercury car line, something to compete with Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac offerings. Plans were scrapped when the Davis committee recommended making Mercury into a distinct mid-sized car produced by a separate Mercury division and when a second new division was set up producing what became the Edsel.

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The XM 800 traveled the auto show circuit through out the 1954 season. It made a brief appearance in the 1954 20th Century Fox film - Woman"s World, starring Clifton Webb, Van Heflin, Cornel Wilde, Fred MacMurray, June Allyson and Lauren Bacall. The car was also immortalized as what has become one of the most sought after automotive cereal box premiums from the 1950s. A small scale model of the car, produced by the F & F Mold Company, was offered in boxes of Post"s Grape Nuts Flakes.

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In 1957 Ford Motor Company gifted the XM 800 to the University of Michigan"s Automotive Engineering Lab for use in training "future" automotive engineers. Later sold at auction, its whereabouts were unknown for many years. In the early 1980s Dan Brooks discovered the XM 800 in a farmer"s barnyard in a small rural town about 50 miles west of Detroit. The car is currently in the Bortz Dream Car Collection.

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Mercury D-528 Beldone

Built by Ford Mercury in 1953-55 and used as a rolling laboratory. Prototype Y block motor XY-3, fully cast fiberglass body, first opening rear electric window. The colors on it are original colors as is the interior design. Restored such that the original build quality was not compromised.

The D-528 was built to test advanced concepts in seating, lighting, air conditioning, and front frame design. The hinged rear fender bulges were functional, concealing a spare tire on one side and a gas tank on the other. Such a design gave the car adequate luggage capacity despite the need to accommodate a large air conditioning system. Although it boasted design features such as a pillarless windshield and Ford's first reverse-sloping retractable rear window, it was an in-house research vehicle that was never shown publicly

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XM-8100 Turnpike Cruiser Experimental Car

One of Mercury's most memorable dream cars of all time is the audacious XM Turnpike Cruiser from 1956. Bold styling featured 12-inch wide V-shaped taillights and matching pealescent concave-sculpted rear fenders. The XM Turnpike Cruiser's large, flat roof seemed to float above the two-tone interior. Twin transparent roof panels flipped-up when doors were opened.

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1956 Mercury XM Turnpike Cruiser Concept was designed with fast, long driving in mind. It was inspired of the Interstate Highway System. A lot of the design elements was later seen on the regular production model 1957 Turnpike Cruiser

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1961 Mercury Palomar (named after Mt. Palomar where the largest telescope in the world at the time was located) was Ford Motor Company's first station wagon concept car. The silver-blue fiberglass prototype had a some very atypical features; it was a four-door hardtop on the driver's side only with "suicide" type doors, had a so-called flying bridge third passenger seat inspired by boats, and a sliding roof section. This design was proposed as a possible 1966 Mercury, but unfortunately the design got no further than this singular concept car. In fact, it was never seriously considered for production. The Palomar was on display inside Ford's Rotunda building for some months and is believed to have been destroyed when a fire engulfed the building on November 9, 1962

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Mercury's Palomar two-door hardtop station wagon featured a roof with an opening rear section. When open, the rear seat rose and a small windshield popped up allowing the passengers to see over the roof. The concept car was named in honor of Mt. Palomar Observatory in California.

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1964 & 1965 Mercury Comet Super Cyclone


What if you are dissatisfied with the 1964 Comet Caliente and wanted to build a sleek fastback coupe? One real-world design was this car built at Dearborn Steel Tubing for the Lincoln-Mercury Caravan of Stars. You'd need to present a well-reasoned document explaining why your design appears as it does, and how it might be realistically used.

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Mercury exhibited its one-of-a-kind Comet Super Cyclone at the 1964 Chicago show. The sleek fastback roof was custom and included a large wrap around back window, like the 1964-65 Plymouth Barracuda. Stylish European-style headlights were rectangular in shape, but illegal on U.S. highways at the time.