Most of the background regarding the Speciale can be found here. That article mentions:
"It's believed that, shortly after the May 1954 merging of Nash and Hudson that created the American Motors Company, Pinin Farina was tasked with designing and building a proposal for a 1955 or 1956 'senior' Nash....
"According to Pat [Foster]'s research, this Farina Ambassador 'appears to have been the second-to-last prototype Farina built for Nash/AMC,' with the Nash Palm Beach (later renamed Rambler Palm Beach) being the last. "To my knowledge," he continues, 'AMC never displayed the Farina 1955 Nash prototype in the U.S., though it did appear at the Turin Motor Show, just prior to being shipped to America.'"
Below are images of the Speciale along with photos of 1955 Nash Statesman examples (which had less elaborate two-tone paint schemes that year than Nash Ambassadors and also a shorter wheelbase).
Farina's design is more attractive than that of 1955 Nashes. I wonder if it would have been successful in the market if it had entered production. After all, American styling fashion called for elaborate two-tone and even three-tone paint schemes that year.
Farina used a similar grille frame- headlight assembly scheme, and the general fender line and C-pillar features.
The production Nash had a larger, more practical trunk.
Tail lights are unrelated to the production version.
The new 1955 front fenders tentatively enlarged the wheel openings a little. The basic idea was a 1940 Car of the Future thing that no one else followed and Nash should have dropped way earlier. I think George Mason liked them. When they brought back the discontinued Rambler as the American they did enlarge them (widening the front track?), and flipped the tail lights over. The 1955 big Nash would have maybe sold a couple more cars if they had done those things with them.
ReplyDeleteThe postwar 1950's was an age of innovation in design of everything, but also of social conformity. The independents featured innovation that wasn't always thought through well enough, and style that was too nonconforming with the big guys.
The front end of the 1961 Lincoln is kind of a sharpened up version of the Pinin Nash. A bit of relationship on the sides and rear too.
A big what if... but, imagine if there had been more money to throw around, Hudson desperately needed a new look body, a little bit of restyling for the front of the Pinin Farina, and BOOOM! the amazing new 1955 Hudson. Definitely more in keeping with the low look of the stepdown Hudsons. We can dream...
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