SPEED, STYLE, & SOUND -Classic Car ‘STUPH’ by  TOP HAT JOHN

DREAM CARS, CONCEPTS & HORSEPOWER … ROLLING SCULPTURE-2003 NAIAS

A little history story … My dad, John Jos. Jendza Jr., was the first and only Art Director of Fisher Body Craftsmens Guild/GM, and when I was but a wee one would accompany the old guy-on occasion-to ‘visit the land’ where these cars were sometimes displayed for the executives to peruse. I remember well a garage on Milwaukee Avenue near the GM Building off of Grand Boulevard, and by 1956 the silver domed building at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan … where many a time I sat behind the wheel of a new GM concept/styling vehicle. The Ford Rotunda in Dearborn too… rings of memories of very special earthbound futuristic styled vehicles. It is here where I was led into the automotive world that born the cherished interest in Dream Cars, Concepts & Horsepower … Rolling Sculpture.

Press week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, is always entertaining, fun and extremely rewarding to any savvy automotive journalist. Not only do we get to see the show before the public-to report our findings of course-we also get up close to some very special automobiles and visit first hand with those who made ‘em happen. Those one-off Dream Cars and Concepts from the automotive manufacturers, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler and General Motors showed off  some of the slickest ‘stuph’ yet for the 2003 NAIAS. 

GT MUSTANG. A classic blend of ‘60s Mustang, Shelby styling cues, and modern design-with the ‘wheezed and freezed’ SVT-Cobra powerplant producing 400 horsepower, this two-seat coupe and convertible concepts models has heritage in its looks … and smooth brute power in it’s shorts. Tungsten Silver Metallic color for the coupe, Redline Red Metallic for the convertible and 20-inch wheels shod with B.F.Goodrich g-force T/A rubber … these are good looking concepts that may see the light of day for public consumption in 2004 models.

SVT-LIGHTNING. An F-150 that does 0-60 in way under 6.0 seconds, has a 5.4 liter, 32-valve DOHC supercharged and ‘SuperCooler’ intercooled V8, conservatively rated at 500 horsepower, 6-speed manual transmission and independent 4-wheel suspension. If you didn’t know … F150 means it’s a truck … with a top speed above 150 mph.

FORD 427. Its a big, bad, black 4-door sedan with 427CID of modern V10 ‘boom’ … a DOHC 7-liter V10 of 590HP @ 6,500 rpm and 509 ft-lbs torque @ 5,500 rpm. “From the first time we drew it up, we knew we had to do a powerplant that lived up to the image of this sinister sedan,” says Chris Theodore, Ford Motor Company vice president-North American Product development. “Putting a 590-horsepower 427 in this car is like putting a Navy Seal in an Armani suit.”

DODGE TOMAHAWK. Nothing … of what Daimler-Chrysler showed compared with the Tomahawk vehicle. A four-wheel, independent suspension, single passenger, V10 Viper powered art-deco styled titanium look crotch rocket, yes-a motorcycle … with a potential terminal velocity of more than 400 mph. Best described as; A land based flying machine for those afraid of heights.

CHEVROLET SS. This modern interpretation of Chevy’s Super Sport heritage packed a 6-liter 430HP small block with rear wheel drive, 21/22-inch front/rear, tires/wheels. In ‘Arrest Me Red’ body color and a build look very reminiscent of  the Bill Thomas Cheetah race cars of the mid ‘60s, but in a pic-a-door style. Way cool.

My personal picks of the 2003 NAIAS, show concepts …

SIXTEEN. A Cadillac styling concept with 4-door hardtop design and a naturally aspirated 1,000 horsepower and 1,000 lbs-ft torque, 60-degree all aluminum XV-16 powerplant of 830CID. Code named ‘Red October’ during it’s secretive development, word has it that the real dynamometer tested horsepower figure of the V-16 is well beyond the 1,000 mark and yet the engine is as docile as any typical Cadillac Northstar. Tom Stephens, GM group vice president of GM powertrain … is having way too much fun here.

SALEEN F-BIRD. Last August when I road tested the Mustang SVT-Cobra, I had sent an e.mail from the road to Mr. John Coletti, ‘Boss’ engineer of SVT, stating how well I liked the whole car and especially the ‘oomph’ from the ‘wheezed and freezed’ modular 4.6 DOHC-32 valve V8. I also mentioned how neat it would be for the new T-Bird to be tricked with this mill .. sort of  a new modernized F-Bird ala 1957. Low and behold in the Saleen display in the hallway of Cobo … an S7, a Saleen ‘Stang and a new T-Bird filled with Cobra SVT. YES!!!

Old concept and dream cars of days gone by never die. Sometimes they get lost for a while … then refound and become very collectible. On June 23 of this year the GM Technical Center will host Eyes On Design and feature some 250 of these cars-past, present and future from GM, Ford and  Daimler-Chrysler … check out the web site: www.eyeson.org.