Lost Show & Concept Cars, 1952

The 1952 Buick Ranger featured a western theme. It was built from a Roadmaster convertible and was said to be painted El Rancho Beige and Canyon Brown. However, a black & white photo of this car shows it to have had a monotone scheme. The wheels were clearly darker so perhaps the brown paint was applied to them. Brown may also have been the color of the convertible top’s fabric. Fitted on at least the driver’s side door (possibly both doors) was a rifle (type unknown) and holster! This was not the last of the Buick’s with a heavy western theme. The Ranger may have been strictly a Canadian show car. This photo was taken at the 1952 Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.

Three prototype cars - one each from Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac - were shown during the 1952 auto show circuit. Pictured here is the one from Buick, dubbed "Skylark." The others, the Oldsmobile Fiesta and the Cadillac Eldorado, joined GM's lineup of 1953 models as limited production models. The Skylark as well as the other two prototypes were presumably scrapped. For more information on the 1952 Cadillac Eldorado (or El Dorado as the prototype was designated) see this link: http://www.cadillacdatabase.org/Dbas_txt/Eld53-55.htm

Lost Show & Concept Cars, 1949-1950

Prototype two-door hardtops were shown at GM's Transportation Unlimited in 1949. Near the center of this photo is the Bel Air. Also shown are Oldsmobile and Buick two-door hardtops. The fates of these hardtop prototypes remain unknown.

 This 1949 Buick Riviera was painted silver and white and had silver interior - a scheme not offered by Buick. The unique car was shown at GM's 1949 Transportation Unlimited shows held in New York City and Detroit. These photos, however, were taken inside the GM Building.

 Prototype hardtops were shown at GM's Transportation Unlimited auto show. This is the 1949 Pontiac Catalina.

Another show car for the Transportation Unlimited show was this 1949 Cadillac El Rancho. It was painted "Mexican Dawn" and its interior was saddle leather trimmed with dark suede kip’s hide and saddle-stitched in white cord. Interior hardware consisted of antiqued and hand-engraved silver.

 One of the many show cars at the 1950 GM Mid-Century Motorama which had to have made quite an impression on show attendees was the two-door hardtop Oldsmobile Palm Beach Holiday Ninety-Eight (barely visible in upper left photo, far background). Painted Cabana Sand over Surf Green, the Palm Beach was upholstered in green alligator leather with a contrasting fine cane mesh fabric! The fate of this show car remains unknown.

 The 1950 Cadillac Debutante show car featured "Tawny Buff" paint, gold-plated interior hardware, and leopard skin upholstery. This car may still exist.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG by VÄTH

The tuning job begins with a power upgrade on the 6.3 liter unit that dials the noise from 571 PS (420 kW / 563 hp) up to 615 PS (452 kW / 607 bhp) and 680 Nm (501 lb-ft) of torque. That helps the SLS reach a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph) and do the 0 to 100 km/h sprint in just 3.6 seconds.

VÄTH adds a high-performance exhaust that comes with a pneumatic valve system which allows the driver to manually control the exhaust sound from the cockpit that stretches between a throaty sporty sound to a more quiet rumble.

For the wheels, VÄTH adds its own 9.5J x 20-inch and 11.5J x 20-inch rims wrapped in 265/30ZR20 and 315/25ZR20 tires, front and back, respectively.

The VÄTH Comfort Suspension lowers the SLS AMG by 25 millimeters.

Visually, the German tuner has a refreshingly subtle, less-is-more take on the SLS AMG which includes an integrated front lip spoiler for more downforce on the front axle, as well as a boot lid spoiler with a trailing edge and side skirts with improved brake ducts.

For the inside, there's a leather sport steering wheel that can also be finsished with carbon or wood trims. A speedometer that reads up to 400 km/h is installed and black floor mats with VÄTH logos are added too. The tuner also offers door trimming in leather.

The complete package costs €32,670.

Mercedes SLS AMG by MEC Design

MEC Design has released the first pictures of their new styling package for the Mercedes SLS AMG.

Built for a customer in Florida, the car has an aggressive body kit with new bumpers, revised side skirts, a trunk-mounted spoiler and a prominent rear diffuser. Other highlights include a stainless steel sport exhaust system, a hydraulic lift-up suspension and 20/21-inch alloy wheels.

Inside, designers added carbon fiber trim, an Alcantara sports steering wheel and special floor mats with the MEC logo.

Infiniti FX 30dS tuned by AHG Sports

AHG Sports, the tuning division of Infiniti Zentrum Hamburg, has a kit that upgrades the Infiniti FX 30dS into a true Porsche Cayenne Diesel competitor.

For €1250, the tuner dials up power on the 3.0 liter V6 diesel unit to 280 PS (206 kW / 276 bhp) and 600 Nm of torque - up substantially from the standard 238 PS (175 kW / 235 bhp) and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft).

The tuner then adds a nice 21-inch wheel and tire combination. The 3-piece CC rims from Schmidt Revolution come in size 11 x 21-inch and are wrapped in 295/40R21 tires. Cost of the wheel set is €7,900.

Lowering springs also drop the suspension by 25 mm at a cost of €1,495, installation included.