Vintage Sports Cars

There were some wonderful vintage sports cars produced during the 1950s that were destined to become classic automobiles. The United States, at the time, commanded world car production in terms of style and innovation. And this also applied to their sports cars.

When looking back to the cars produced Stateside a wonderful example of a vintage sports car is the Ford Thunderbird. The Thunderbird is an icon of the sports cars produced during the decade. Launched in 1955 the Thunderbird was marketed as a ‘”luxury car” rather than as a sports car. But a sports car it most certainly was.

The Thunderbird was a beefed up version of the Vega launched by Ford in 1953. The Vega looked the part, but the V8 136 cu in engine did not generate enough power to satisfy the sports car enthusiast. With their new Thunderbird Ford installed a 4.8l Y-block V8, and a speedometer with a top speed of 150 mph. The public liked the new offering and sales rocketed.

The Thunderbird was built to provide competition in the marketplace for the Chevrolet Corvette.  This particular Chevy was designed by car styling master Harvey Earl. Launched at the 1953 GM Motorama the first generation of the Corvette was to roll off the assembly lines in Michigan and Missouri until 1962. By 1955 those purchasing the Corvette were given the option 4.34l V8 engine. Two years later it was possible opt for a model with fuel injection.

For the modern day collector seeking a vintage sports car the Corvette offers an enticing proposition. In 1953 300 hand built polo white convertibles were produced by Chevrolet. As can be appreciated, these are now extremely rare.

The big European car manufacturers also produced excellent vintage sports cars during the 50s. For their part, the German company Porsche produced the 356. It was launched in 1948 and built in Austria. In 1950 production was switched to Zuffenhaus in Germany. Prior to the move the car body had been made out of aluminium, but in Germany steel was used.  The 356 impressed the car buying public with interest being shown in the United States. Indeed, on advice from the Sates an open top version, the “Speedster” was produced which sold well, particularly in Southern California.

California proved to be a lucrative market for European sports cars during the 1950s. United States car distributors Jon von Neumann and Luigi Chinetti persuaded Italian giant Ferrari to produce a performance convertible for the Californian sports car enthusiast. The result was the California Spyder. The design of the Spyder was based on the 250 GT Cabriolet and was handcrafted by Carrozerria Scaglietti. It could top 140 mph. Production of the Spyder commenced in 1958 and continued for the next five years.

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