![]() The bubble top roof was a bold and dynamic design move. The body was constructed from fiberglass and the interior was inspired by the cockpit of an airplane. Cadillac picked up the cylindrical digital clock for their 1958 models, but it took Buick another 52 years before a backup camera was used in a production model, making this particular aspect of the Centurion half a century ahead of its time.The Buick Centurion Concept was first shown to the public at the 1956 Motorama Show. Other designs of tomorrow include a cylindrical digital clock, back up camera in lieu of a rear view mirror, and a free-standing speedometer with a stationary indicator and a revolving dial.Īs far out as the Centurion was, some of the conceptual designs were incorporated into future production features. The panoramic wrap-around windshield featured on Buick’s earlier experimental cars, the XP300 and Wildcat II, are taken a step further on the Centurion: It employs both front and rear wraparound windows incorporated into its bubble top, providing a full 360-degree view of the world from inside. Less subtle is the fact that at one time this car even featured an aircraft steering yoke that has since been replaced with a traditional steering column. Beyond the obvious wing-shaped rear end, the “Electro Red” car’s headlights are deeply recessed into jet turbine-like housings. This ‘Jet Age’ styling is obvious on the experimental Centurion, Buick’s Autorama show car for 1956. When air travel captured Americans’ imaginations in the 1950s automotive styling shifted to reflect this new love and cars began to look like jets. The above sign reads: “In the 1930s and 40s when Americans rode on the rails and the public was enamored with the new streamline modern trains, automobile styling reflected that popular aesthetic and automobiles greatly resembled locomotives. The front end hides the headlights deep inside what looks like twin jet air intakes. That along with the low set stacked tail light housings makes it look like a 3-engine jet. And check out that central spun aluminum cone in the center of the back. The rear tail fins look very much light the vertical stabilizers on the tail of a jet. It would probably have cooked the occupants in actual use. With a wraparound clear lexan bubble for a roof, it looked like the canopy from a jet fighter. The show cars were even more outspoken about it than the production cars, and this 1956 Buick XP301 Centurion concept car typifies this. While cars weren’t really going to fly anytime soon, they sure looked like it, as they sprouted wings, fins and afterburners. Everyone seemed to be looking to an exciting future of flying cars. ![]() But this one was saved, fortunately, and now sits in the Buick Gallery & Research Center Museum in Flint MI.ġ956 Buick XP301 Centurion ‘Jet Age’-Stylingġ950s car styling was heavily influenced by jet aircraft, and even rockets. GM often crushed its concept cars to prevent the often incomplete and unroadworthy cars from falling into the hands of the public. These cars were intended to impress the public with Buick’s capabilities, and to draw attention to the brand. This XP301 was Buick’s 1956 entry in GM’s Motorama. In fact, Buick was the first car company to create a Concept Car, the revolutionary 1938 Buick Y-Job. Buick has a long and important history in the automotive industry, along with a historical commitment to Concepts, Show Cars, and Cars of the Future. The 1956 Buick XP301 Centurion is just one in a long line of Buick ‘Concept Cars’.
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