Chrysler created the stunning Belmont concept car for its Plymouth Division in 1954. Despite being well-received by the public on many occasions, including the 1954 New York Auto Show, the car was not approved for final production and was nearly destroyed, as was the fate of most show cars of the era. Chrysler somehow allowed Virgil Exner, Vice President of Design at the company at the time, to keep this example as his personal property, and now, 63 years later, it will be auctioned at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale sale next month.

The car was styled by Briggs and built by Chrysler in the United States using a fibreglass body shell mounted on standard Plymouth chassis. It features a 157hp poly-head 3.9-litre V8 engine and three-speed semi-automatic transmission. If it had clawed its way into production, the Belmont would have rivalled the Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Thunderbird but was deemed to be “too old”. A pity, but at least we still have this survivor to admire in person, rather than a few old black and white photos from the fifties.