Mercer isn’t the most recognisable of names in the automotive world. The American automobile manufacturer, after all, produced cars before World War II and the company faded into relative obscurity in the years since. But Mercer was also responsible for the Mercer 35 Raceabout from 1910 — a model considered the most admired sports cars of the decade, as well as the stunning Mercer Cobra Roadster.

The Mercer Cobra Roadster was a one-off vehicle commissioned by the Copper Development Association from Virgil Exner’s designs in Esquire. Its design was drawn up by designers Virgil Exner and Virgil Exner, Jr. and was built using a Shelby Cobra chassis, engine and gearbox. From a design standpoint, the Mercer-Cobra exploited “the dramatic colors and textures of copper and copper-based materials,” particularly with the Brass-Era theme of the Mercer, and around eleven different materials, alloys and finishes were employed in both the interior and exterior to demonstrate the diversity of copper and brass. “Our overall aim was to create an interesting and stimulating design rather than one which simply follows the ‘formula’ of a flat, low snout with a horizontal air scoop and a squared-off bobtailed rear,” Exner explained of the car’s overall design. Finished in pearl white with black leather interior trim, the Mercer-Cobra, ultimately, is not only an important piece of America’s automotive design history, but a rare surviving work by one of the great automobile designers of the 20th century.