The Ford Mystere was created for the 1955 January Detroit Auto Show to hint at features that would ultimately arrive in Ford's 1957 models. The upper management team at Ford only intended to make the Mystere a concept car to display these features at that event, so it was not a working model.
It was later displayed at the 1956 Chicago Extravaganza, so as not to hint at these new ideas too early. It shared almost nothing in common with later Ford models, but was admired for its fun and futuristic (albeit impractical) appearance. Read on to find out more about the Ford Mystere's origins.
Created In 1954
The Ford Mystere Concept Car was actually created a year before it hit the auto shows. The summer of 1954 is when it was born at the Advanced Styling Studio, and Bill Boyer created it with the 1955 January Detroit Auto Show in mind.
That said, the car didn't actually debut at that event because it was so aesthetically divergent from Ford's other models at the time. It instead was similar to styling from the vehicles included in Ford's 1957 product line. Once photos of the Mystere surfaced in September 1955, it became clear that it was the source material for the 'swash' bodyside molding of the 1957 Fairlane 500.
The 1957 models all owe their fins, quad headlights, and taillights to this car as well. This vehicle was intended to be futuristic and using a gas turbine powerplant to be propelled. The Mystere was later shown at the 1956 Chicago Extravaganza, albeit without a functioning engine for the show. The front hood, where the engine was traditionally housed on most '50s Ford models, instead housed cargo and a spare tire, similar to today's trunks.
The roof, windows, and windshield were more or less merged into one aspect under a large bubble of glass. Further, front seats swiveled outward, allowing passengers entry or exit via half-doors. The Mystere also showcased a padded dash, a television set behind the front seat, and a push button ignition switch.
A Rear-Engine Concept
A weird quirk of the Ford Mystere Concept Car is that the engine was placed in the rear. As the front was used for the trunk, the front and rear of traditional cars were basically inverted. Other weird quirks were also present, such as the periscope-type scoop that supplied air to the interior, or front bumper pods being air cooler reservoirs.
Just like the front seats could swing around, so too could the steering, which was a control stick known as a “throw-over” that could swing from one seat to another for both front passengers to operate the Mystere. The Mystere had a console between the two rear bucket seats that housed a radio telephone.
Made To Precede Other Models
When the Mystere was finally unveiled, its main purpose was to hint at the types of Ford models to come in the next few years. As mentioned before, the Mystere ended up inspiring a lot of style and design elements for vehicles in Ford's 1957 product line.
While the Mystere was described as “a space-age dreamboat typical of the decade,” according to howstuffworks.com, it was only for display, constructed from fiberglass. It had no further purpose beyond being intended for display at the 1955 January Detroit Auto Show, being actually displayed at the 1956 Chicago Extravaganza, and giving customers a preview of what to expect for vehicles in Ford's 1957 product line.
Boyer noted that the decision to hold the Mystere back from the 1955 show was simply “In order not to tip [our] hand,” and he further elaborated that when it was eventually shown a year later, it was “[only] as an idea car preceding the 1957 Ford [lineup].”
During that time, Ford decided to diverge design and construction for both the Thunderbird and the standard Ford, concluding the cars would be best served by using two separate wheelbases for the passenger models. Production became so convoluted that the 1957 line borrowed so many ideas from so many designers that no one person or idea could be credited for the result of the final product.
Influenced The Design Of Later Cars
As mentioned previously, many of Ford's later models in the next few years took small and subtle design cues from the Ford Mystere Concept Car. The name was possibly inspired by the 1951 French fighter jet known as the Dassault Mystère, a belief only furthered by the numerous jet fighter motifs peppered throughout the Mystere, such as the fins and the jet exhausts.
Because of its impractical features and design, the management at Ford never had any ambitions or aspirations for the Mystere, and no successive Ford models, such as the Fairlane, Bronco, or Ranchero, bore anything similar to the Mystere in appearance. One feature the Mystere did share with Ford's 1955 line, however, was the three-tone color scheme.
Sources: kustomrama.com, carstyling.ru, howstuffworks.com, carstylecritic.blogspot.com,