Plymouth in 1957

Plymouth in 1957

• In 1957 Plymouths were available in three series – Plaza, Savoy and Belvedere – with the limited production “muscle car” version – the Plymouth Fury – available mid-year. (No, it did not have a “Hemi.”)
• Tulsa’s “buried” car is a 1957 Belvedere two-door hardtop equipped with a V-8 engine and Sportone trim (the tapering body side “color sweep”).
• The car is painted Desert Gold with a Sand Dune White roof and color sweep.
• The “buried” Belvedere is one of 71,939 Belvedere V-8 two-door hardtops built in 1957.
• The buried car is actually a 1957 1/2 Plymouth because it has the revised mid-year grille. The area below the raised bumper bar – with the six wide vertical slots – was changed mid-year to add an additional vertical strip in each of the six slots to narrow the width and thus improve the appearance.
• Given its abstract shape and gold finish, the ’57 version of Plymouth’s traditional Mayflower sailing ship logo that graced the grille and deck lid was referred to by the stylists as the “potato chip.”
• The 1957 cars were known internally within Chrysler as the “K” series.
• Plymouth production totaled 729,369 cars for the 1957 model run.
• The runaway success of the ’57 Plymouth enabled Plymouth division to recapture third place in sales from Buick.
• Chrysler Corporation vehicles in 1957 used about 100 pounds in weight-saving aluminum per vehicle versus a then-industry average of 45 pounds.
• On April 19, 1957, Chrysler Corporation cars – including Plymouth – achieved an unprecedented clean sweep of the 1,568 mile Los Angles to Sun Valley Mobilgas Economy Run, winning in every class.
• Chrysler Corporation also won Motor Trend’s (now Car of the Year) Award for the “superior handling and roadability” of the innovative Torsion-Aire suspension.
• In June, 1957, Virgil Exner’s design team received the Industrial Designers’ Institute Gold Medal Award for the design of the 1957 cars.
• On July 25, 1957, Virgil Exner was made Chrysler’s first Vice President of Styling.

The 1957 Chrysler Dart was a striking one-off concept car built during Chrysler’s “Forward Look” styling era. It should not be confused with the later Dodge Dart production car (introduced in 1960). The Dart concept was one of Chrysler’s boldest design studies of the 1950s, showcasing futuristic styling and advanced engineering ideas.

• Name: Chrysler Dart (1957 Concept Car)

• Designer: Virgil Exner, Chrysler’s chief stylist

• Built by: Carrozzeria Ghia (Turin, Italy), Chrysler’s favored coachbuilder at the time

• Debut: 1957 Torino Auto Show, later shown in the U.S.

• Dramatic low-slung coupe body with exaggerated fins and sharp, flowing lines.

• Long front hood with a bold trapezoidal grille.

• Aircraft-inspired details, with heavy chrome accents and jet-age design cues.

• Sweeping fins foreshadowed the look of Chrysler’s production cars of the late ’50s.

• Seating for four inside a luxurious, futuristic cabin.

• Hand-built by Ghia, making it essentially a custom-bodied show car.

• Based on Chrysler mechanicals, likely using a 392 cu in HEMI V8 (375+ hp in production form at the time).

• Automatic transmission (TorqueFlite).

• Engineering emphasis was more on styling showcase than mechanical innovation, though it rode on Chrysler’s torsion-bar suspension.

• The Dart was part of Chrysler’s “Idea Car” program, which produced several experimental showcars in the 1950s, often built by Ghia.

• It served as an inspiration for future Mopar styling, with exaggerated fins and low profiles influencing Chrysler’s 1957–1959 production cars.

• The concept also led to further variations like the 1957 Chrysler Dart Diablo (another Ghia-built evolution, shown in 1958).

• Only one Chrysler Dart concept was built.