Wednesday 11th February 1953

Production prototypes of the Kaiser Darrin – “The Sports Car The World Has Been Awaiting” – went on display. Powered by a 90 hp 2.6 litre 6 cylinder engine, the Kaiser-Darrin was created to compete with Chevrolet’s Corvette. Styled by Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin, who had also designed for Packard and Studebaker, the Kaiser-Darrin had a fiberglass body with a three-position top and sliding doors that disappeared into the front fenders when opened. It cost ($3668) more than a Cadillac 62 or Lincoln Capri but was fully equipped: overdrive 3-speed manual transmission, tachometer, windwings, electric wipers, whitewall tyres, and more. In 1954, the model’s only year of production, only 435 cars were built in addition to an estimated six pre-production prototypes