Crowds attending the 1962 chicago show were awestruck by the experimental ford gyron, which debuted in 1961. Engine, horsepower, torque, dimensions and mechanical details for the 1961 ford gyron concept. Ford gyron news newspapers books scholar jstor december 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message. Gyrocars, twowheeled automobiles, have held a fascination for car designers, and the ford gyron is one. Ford motor company revealed its gyron concept car in 1961. The two occupants of the vehicle were seated side by side and, when the vehicle was.
The chance to work with us steel on a concept book took him away from ford in 1961 and for the remainder of the 1960s he worked for. One of tremuliss projects for ford was the 1961 gyron concept car. In all the old books, the gyron model i always see is this one. Drawing of the ford gyron, shape, december 1959 the. Feb 15, 2014 ford gyron concept car retronaut retronaut see the past like you wouldnt believe. Concept vehicle concept car history chicago auto show.
Gesamtkunstwerk survives most prominently in architecture, where all aspects of the design. The automotive history preservation society digital documents library provides these materials for educational, or research, or personal use. The ford gyron was a futuristic twowheeled gyrocar first shown to the world in 1961 at the detroit motor show as a concept car. The gyron was destroyed in the 1962 ford rotunda fire. A poetics of entertainment ebook written by mary hunter. Ford gyron, concept car designed by prolific concept artist syd mead. Pictured in dale kelleys collecting the tin toy car book on page 155. It had a motorcyclelike design, with one wheel in the front and. These concept cars were automotive art built to attract public attention, test wild engineering ideas, and give motorists a fleeting glimpse down the highway of tomorrow. One wheel was at the front and the other at the rear like a motorcycle and the car was stabilized by gyroscopes.
Pages in category ford concept vehicles the following 40 pages are in this category, out of 40 total. This year marks the 112th edition of the chicago auto show. Ford mustang past and present chronology evolution history car gt shelby retro vintage tin sign x16, 16x. Remembering syd mead, 19332019 news car design news. The ford gyron, a twowheeled, gyroscopicallystabilised concept car. Hot rod 1961 may 99 racing, gyron, daytona, 409 ebay. Automotive history preservation society library magazine. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite reads in more than a dozen categories. The ford gyron was a twowheeled gyrocar which made its debut at the 1961 detroit motor show. Our mission is to protect, preserve and share traditional hot rod custom car history from all over the world. Use the following model template as the foundation for the autopedias model page. Eventually, exner developed his boldest design to date. Electric motors powered the fullsize fiberglass concept car to a maximum speed of. First staged in 1901, the chicago auto show is the largest auto show in north america and has been held more times than any other auto exposition on the continent.
One such concept car, the gyron, had been a pet project of his from the early 1950s. These prototype cars were futuristic, but never made it into. Jeep has a short history of building electric and hybrid concept vehicles. The two occupants of the vehicle were seated side by side and, when the vehicle was stationary. As early as 1943, tremulis was designing gyroscopic guided missiles for the u. Top 10 20th century concept cars we hoped wed drive by. The earliest gyron sketches were rendered in 1956, but tremulis renewed his interest in the gyron after learning of gms 1959 firebird iii concept, which was hailed as the worlds most advanced and most exotic car. The ford gyron, a twowheeled, gyroscopicallystabilised concept. Within this issue you will discover the following topics. Ford gyron concept car retronaut retronaut see the. Instead, the fiberglass gyron used outrigger wheels to keep its balance while an electric motor moved it at 5 mph. Motorcities remembering the first african american car. This gyroscope was not actually available in 1961, but that was not the point.
In 1956, alex tremulis, then head of fords advanced studio, conceived of the twowheeled, gyroscopically stabilized, deltashaped gyron as a genuine breakthrough that would influence all future car design, according to jim and cheryl farrell, writing in their book ford design department concepts and showcars, 19321961. Another ford concept car was the 1961 gyron, a twowheeled vehicle that, in theory, would use a large gyroscope to keep itself upright as it motored along. Exceptions can be made, however, particularly for models that represent the last physical evidence of a lost concept car and that come from the fertile mind of one of detroits leading designers as is the case with this model of the ford gyron concept car that will head to auction later this year. List of ford vehicles project gutenberg selfpublishing. Related products from our brands pinzon 6 piece blended. Mckinley was a man who followed his dreams and wound up making history, said ford bronco interior designer christopher young. The most intriguing concept cars that never saw the light. Ford gyron 1961 in the recent men in black iii, will smiths j character said that two wheels is like my minimum.
Designers intended for a gyroscope to keep the twowheeled car upright, but the technology was too expensive for a show car. As a direct successor to the ford gyron, he called the motorcycle the gyronaut and set as his first task to meet his critics headon. The 1961 ford gyron concept is sort of making a comeback. Its from the 70s, and i cant get my eyes off these pictures. Gyrocars, twowheeled automobiles, have held a fascination for car designers, and the ford gyron is one such example.
You should not republish these materials for financial gain without informing the original author or. Please include the following line at the bottom of this section. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the culture of opera buffa in mozarts vienna. The plan is to have the restoration completed and ready to drive on january 23, 2014, when alex tremulis would have turned 100 years old. In 1944, summers launched a company to produce gyroscopes, bomb sites and other devices. Ford gyron, concept car designed by prolific concept artist. He went to work for ford in 1952 as the chief of advanced styling, and helped design the ford gyron concept car in 1961. Gesamtkunstwerk modern art terms and concepts theartstory.
Designer reveals electric two wheel car inspired by 1961 ford gyron. August 29, 2011 by the belated nerd introduced at the 1961 detroit motor show as a concept car, the ford gyron was a futuristic twowheeled gyrocar. Should such a system work, the car could bank itself like a motorcycle through turns. And concept cars are the perfect vehicle pun intended to. Thompson made automotive history again by becoming the first african american car designer, having received his bachelors degree in industrial design in 1956. The most intriguing concept cars that never saw the light of day. The reason for this is because the movie back to the future ii told us we would. It was a concept car that had a very futuristic, twowheeled design. Just added to our digital collections the henry ford. Similar to ford s gyron concept, the fulgar utilized internally mounted gyroscopes to allow it to balance on two wheels while underway. The fire that destroyed fords rotunda reportedly took the gyron as well. Over 50 years, auto makers such as ford, general motors and bmw.
The 1961 ford gyron concept is sort of making a comeback thanks to this startup. Although tremulis died in 1991, getting the gyrox on the road will serve as a fitting tribute to his innovation and perseverance. The most stunning concept cars of the 1960s old concept cars. Tremulis was the creative force behind the illfated tucker 48, the funky subaru.
The gyron was a two wheeled fully encapsulated car that looked more like a tron light cycle than anything currently on the road. The following year the fiberglass concept car was consumed in the fire that destroyed fords rotunda. Illustration of ford gyron show car, 1961 by syd mead syd mead, design retro. The gyron not only had just two seats, it had only two wheels and would depend on some sort of gyroscopic devise to maintain balance. Start off with a brief introduction to the particular model.
Book or magazine covers, commercial, promotional, advertorial, endorsement. The fabulous success of ford s mustang in america inspired ford s british and german branches to do likewise. Ford gyron concept car photos one of the models of cars manufactured by ford ford gyron futuristic twowheeled concept gyrocar designed by alex tremulis and based on aeronautical principles, the inline front and rear wheels were stabilized by gyroscopes. Chrysler was suffering from an image crisis and needed to compete with ford and gm, so the company hired virgil exner, who commissioned carrozzeria ghia to design concept cars. Fords first african american designer crucial in early. The following is a list of vehicles manufactured by the ford motor company under the ford marque. When dream cars collide with realworld demands the new. Ford debuted the gyron at the new york international auto show on april 1, 1961. Ford gyron car of tin, batteryoperated, mystery car of the future, cockpit opens to reveal lithographed interior. Instead, ford built the car with outrigger wheels, needed to stabilize it at low speeds. We dont know when or if this item will be back in stock. It stands to reason that j would have loved or at least tolerated the ford gyron. They were pure fantasy on wheels, machines designed to make the heart race and the mind ask what if. The gyron debuted in 1961 and would be one of tremuliss last projects at ford, though he would continue to pursue the idea of a twowheeled gyro car long after he left the company.
The cars roots trace to two people, designer alex tremulis and engineer tom summers. Tremulis designed it to be fully gyrobalanced, but a gyroscope of that size wouldve been too expensive for a oneoff vehicle. The gyrox was born in 1967, the product of famed car designer alex tremulis and gyroscope specialist tom summers. The sporty coupe they created, the ford capri, was launched in 1969 as the first joint production of the brandnew ford of europe. And during each of these iconic eras in history, the gyronaut x1 remained the one and only worlds fastest motorcycle. For other vehicles produced by ford motor company see list of.
The most stunning concept cars of the 1960s plymouth xnr concept 1960 while ford s falcon was running away with the compactcar market, exner was transforming chryslers compact, the plymouth valiant, into his most radical idea car of all, the 1960 plymouth xnr concept car. It had a motorcyclelike design, with one wheel in the front and one in the rear. Ford gyron concept car made by ichida japan youtube. Thompson also worked on the futuristic spaceage ford gyron, a twowheeled concept car that was on display at the century of progress exhibit at the ford rotunda in 1961. He was hired by the talented automotive designer alex tremulis, who was known for designing the tucker automobile. Ford gyron model to cross the auction block hemmings daily. He told anyone who would listen that he thought his idea. Theres a story over at bloomberg today that highlights the work of an engineer named zhu lingyun who believes, if all goes according to plan, hell have a twowheeled electric pod thing on the road in two years. Ford gyron concept car, 1961 retro futurism, syd mead, retro. All about 1934 chevs 4853 chev pickups history of chevrolet history of the corvette prototypes car spotters guide monaro shrine the aussie ute panel vans wheelstanders scallops slopers prototypes and concept cars. The entire history of americas original pony car, in its full glory.
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