Chrysler’s 1955 Forward Look models were barely complete when styling chief Virgil Exner was already looking ahead to 1956 and beyond with the Flight Sweep idea cars.
Especially in hindsight, it’s obvious that Chrysler styling chief Virgil Exner (above right) never imagined his 1955 Forward Look as a single, static theme. Rather, he envisioned the Forward Look as an ever-evolving design language intended to carry the automaker through successive product generations. The ink was barely dry on the ’55 Forward Look designs when Exner was already looking forward to 1956 and beyond with a pair of idea cars called Flight Sweep I and Flight Sweep II.
Both Flight Sweep I and II were constructed by Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin, Italy, Exner’s favorite prototype constructor, on 1954 DeSoto production chassis with DeSoto Hemi 276 cubic-inch V8s and Powerflite transmissions. Full equipment included power steering, power brakes, and power electric windows. Overall length was 207 inches, wheelbase 120 inches, while the roof height was a mere 53.5 inches, seven inches lower than a Plymouth showroom model.
Though the cars were near-twins otherwise, Fire Sweep I was a cloth-top convertible while Fire Sweep II was a close-coupled hardtop coupe with curved side glass. Both Fire Sweeps sported radically sloping 56-degree windshields and a familiar Exner touch, a concealed spare tire built into the deck lid. In simulated form, this feature was included on numerous Chrysler production cars in the Exner era, from Imperial to Valiant.
The Fire Sweeps debuted at the Chrysler International Salon in the Chrysler Building in Manhattan on August 17, 1955, then embarked on a tour of the auto show circuit that lasted through 1956. Flight Sweep elements can be seen in the facelifted ’56 Forward Look production cars, especially in the new tail fins at Dodge and Plymouth. Meanwhile, the Flight Sweep name featured prominently in the corporation’s print advertising that year, along with the Forward Look theme. And of course, there’s no mistaking the Flight Sweep influences in Chrysler’s Forward Look models for 1957, the cars that truly set the Motor City on its ear.
What a fertile mind Mr. Exner had. And Chrysler had the gumption to build his ideas! While I (like many people) derided his designs as ‘over the top’, or worse, for many years, I think differently now. I’ve grown to appreciate his bold designs, and his willingness to take risks- especially in today’s derivative, algorithm- controlled design world. I’ve never seen pictures of these cars before- thanks for highlighting a great American designer!
I don’t recall seeing these concepts before. I like the front, and it foreshadows today’s “grumpy look”. The side view is attractive as well. I care less for the sloping rear and never cottoned to the trunklid spare. I’ve always held the 1956 DeSoto Fireflite and Chrysler New Yorker as favorites in 50s design.
…and foreshadowed the ’57 Imperial’s hooded headlights.
Great looking cars (from all the industry) in the mid fifties.
No one will agree with me, but I believe the unexpected success of the ’57 models were the beginning of the end for Chrysler as a stand alone company.
I can agree with you, with some reservations. The 1957 cars were, in the long run, the beginning of the long slide downhill only finally arrested with the 1981 K-cars. Chrysler’s rushing the ’57’s out a year earlier than they should have fatally hurt their reputation as a quality builder, something that never came back to the level that they had in the Thirties, Forties, and well into the Fifties.
It took them until the ’59 cars to get their quality back up to what it was ten years earlier, and then the design, production, and management missteps over the next five years hurt the company even more.
One of Exners better designs. More understated, and not over the top like some of his later concepts.