Those who were children in the fifties will remember with nostalgia those times when the world turned its gaze towards the sky in its eagerness to conquer space after a convulsive historical period, marked by the Great Depression and the Second World War.
These were years of technological innovation influenced by the era of space exploration, which began in 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite from Earth, Sputnik 1.
The automotive industry did not escape this trend either. The 1950s were marked by the appearance of groundbreaking and futuristic designs that significantly improved the appearance of automobiles.
Most manufacturers began to abandon the old style of straight, monotonous lines that made all cars look more or less the same, and bold new styles began to emerge. Many brands incorporated designers and engineers into their departments to bring visionary sketches to reality.
One of the most fascinating concept cars to appear at that time was the Cadillac Cyclone XP-74, which pushed the boundaries of design and technological innovation. Considered a laboratory on wheels, it was the brainchild of one of the most influential American designers of the time: the legendary Harley Jarvis Earl, who worked for the Cadillac brand of General Motors. His most cutting-edge concepts were called Dream Cars, and the latest on his resume was the flashy Cyclone.
Sixty-four years after its introduction, the extravagant Cadillac Cyclone remains an impressive example of aerospace-age design and one of the most exciting concepts of its day because of the high technology it embodied.
Introduced in 1959, the car looks like a sleek rocket on wheels. It features prominent rear wings emblazoned with General Motors Air Transportation Section (GMATS) logos and a fully transparent, retractable roof in place of a conventional roof.
Precisely, the half-bubble-shaped plexiglass roof is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive elements of this Cadillac. Coated with vaporized silver to protect occupants from UV rays and reduce glare, it is electro-hydraulically stowable and disappears behind the rear seats at the flick of a switch. In addition, the roof is connected to a sensor that automatically raises it when it detects that it rains.
It does not have side windows and the doors do not open in the conventional way, but slide back at the push of a button. An audio system is installed in the body to talk to the outside without having to lower the hood.
Another sample of the pioneering technology that the Cyclone incorporates is hidden inside the two black warheads, similar to projectile points, at the front of the vehicle. Both include sensors that measure speed and detect oncoming traffic or pedestrians, sending visual and audible signals to the driver. It's one of the first collision avoidance systems in history, a safety feature that has become commonplace in cars more than half a century later.
The car has a wheelbase of 2.64 m and a weight of 2,100 kg. And its original engine is a 6.4-liter V8 and 350 hp, associated with a three-speed manual transmission.
Currently, the Cadillac Cyclone XP-74 can be admired at the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan (United States). You can see it in greater detail in the video that accompanies this article.
