General Motors Le Sabre

Last updated July 10, 2024

The General Motors Le Sabre is a 1951 concept car. Possibly the most important show car of the 1950s,^[1] it introduced aircraft-inspired design elements such as the wrap-around windshield and tail fins, which became common on automotive designs during the second half of the decade.

History

The Le Sabre was the brainchild of General Motors Art Department head Harley Earl.^[2] The design was Earl's attempt to incorporate the look of modern jet fighter aircraft into automotive design.^{[ citation needed ]} As jets replaced prop-driven aircraft in the late 1940s, they symbolized the very latest in design and engineering, and Earl had hoped to carry this concept into automobile design.

The project was a follow-up to Earl's famous 1938 Buick Y-Job. Like all his projects, it was built to be roadworthy, and became Earl's personal automobile for two years after finishing its tour of the auto show circuit.^{[ citation needed ]}

Design and features

With a body made of aluminium, magnesium, and fiberglass,^{[ citation needed ]} it was powered by a supercharged aluminum V8 able to run on gasoline (petrol) or methanol (like Indy roadsters of the period did), and was GM's first use of a rear-mounted transmission.

As to the fins, Harley Earl wrote, “People ask, ‘isn’t your exaggerated design just for effect?’ The answer is definitely no. Typically, the twin fins on Le Sabre serve the functional purpose of carrying aircraft-type 20-gallon rubberized fuel cells.”^[3]

In addition to its jet-inspired design, the 1951 Le Sabre featured numerous other advanced features, including a 12-volt electrical system (all American cars of 1951 were 6-volt), heated seats, electric headlights concealed behind the center oval "jet intake", front bumper Dagmars ^[2] (made famous on 1951-8 Cadillacs), a water sensor to activate the power top,^[2] and electric lifting jacks integral to the chassis ^[2] to aid tire changes. (This idea would be copied decades later by Formula One race teams.)

The rear-mounted automatic transmission was originally a Buick Dynaflow, but this was later changed to a GM Hydramatic.^[2]

This early-development aluminum V8 was unique to the Le Sabre and the Buick XP300 concept cars. The concept 215ci V8 used a hemispherical combustion chamber design, similar to early Chrysler V8s of the 1950s era. It was a "Square" engine, with matching 3.3" bore and stroke dimensions. Although they shared a common displacement of 215 cu in (3.5 L), this concept engine is not the same as the production "Oversquare" aluminum Buick 215 introduced in the GM Y-body compact cars in 1961. They have virtually no interchangeability in parts or design.

Reproductions

In 1999 the Franklin Mint introduced a 1:24 scale die-cast reproduction on the 1951 Le Sabre. It became one of their best-selling automobile miniatures.^{[ citation needed ]} A smaller scale Le Sabre also exists as a Hot Wheels model. Glencoe Models made a simple 1:72 scale plastic kit, which had the wrong shape at the rear. Berkley Models made a 1:24 scale kit with a body of curved balsa wood.

Related Research Articles

Buick is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobile brands and was the company that established General Motors in 1908. Before the establishment of General Motors, GM founder William C. Durant had served as Buick's general manager and major investor. With the demise of Oldsmobile in 2004, Buick became the oldest surviving American carmaker.

Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac, is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China. Cadillac models are distributed in 34 additional markets worldwide. Historically, Cadillac automobiles were at the top of the luxury field within the United States, but have been outsold by European luxury brands including BMW and Mercedes since the 2000s. In 2019, Cadillac sold 390,458 vehicles worldwide, a record for the brand.

The Oldsmobile Cutlass was a series of automobiles produced by General Motors' Oldsmobile division between 1961 and 1999. At its introduction, the Cutlass was Oldsmobile's entry-level model; it began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate. The Cutlass was named after Vought F7U Cutlass, as well as the type of sword, which was common during the Age of Sail.

The Buick Riviera is a personal luxury car that was marketed by Buick from 1963 to 1999, with the exception of the 1994 model year.

William Leroy Mitchell was an American automobile designer. Mitchell worked briefly as an advertising illustrator and as the official illustrator of the Automobile Racing Club of America before being recruited by Harley Earl to join the Art and Color Section of General Motors in 1935.

LaSalle was an American brand of luxury automobiles manufactured and marketed, as a separate brand, by General Motors' Cadillac division from 1927 through 1940. Alfred P. Sloan, GM's Chairman of the Board, developed the concept for four new GM marques - LaSalle, Marquette, Viking and Pontiac - paired with already established brands to fill price gaps he perceived in the General Motors product portfolio. Sloan created LaSalle as a companion marque for Cadillac. LaSalle automobiles were manufactured by Cadillac, but were priced lower than Cadillac-branded automobiles, were shorter, and were marketed as the second-most prestigious marque in the General Motors portfolio. LaSalles were titled as LaSalles, and not as Cadillacs. Like Cadillac — named after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac — the LaSalle brand name was based on that of another French explorer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.

The Buick Electra is a full-size luxury car manufactured and marketed by Buick from 1959 to 1990, over six generations. Introduced as the replacement for the Roadmaster lines, the Electra served as the flagship Buick sedan line through its entire production and was offered as a two-door sedan, two-door convertible, four-door sedan, and five-door station wagon.

The Buick Special was an automobile produced by Buick. It was usually Buick's lowest-priced model, starting out as a full-size car in 1936 and returning in 1961 as a mid-size. The Special was built for several decades and was offered as a coupe, sedan and later as a station wagon. When GM modernized their entry level products in the 1960s, the Special introduced the modern Buick V6 that became a core engine for GM for several decades and lived on in upgraded form until 2006.

The Y platform, or Y body, designation has been used twice by the General Motors Corporation to describe a series of vehicles all built on the same basic body and sharing many parts and characteristics. The first was for a group of entry-level compacts including the conventional front-engine compacts built by GM divisions Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac from 1961 to 1963. The second, and current, incarnation is used for a high-end rear-wheel drive sports-car platform from the 1970s through the 2000s.

The Buick V6 is an OHV V6 engine developed by the Buick division of General Motors and first introduced in 1962. The engine was originally 198 cu in (3.2 L) and was marketed as the Fireball engine. GM continued to develop and refine the 3.8 L (230 cu in) V6, eventually and commonly referred to simply as the 3800, through numerous iterations.

The tailfin era of automobile styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1955 and 1961. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry, where it was regarded as the "golden age" of American auto design and American exceptionalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harley Earl</span> American designer

Harley Jarvis Earl was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever appointed in design of a major corporation in American history. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as automotive design techniques. He subsequently introduced the "concept car" as both a tool for the design process and a clever marketing device.

The Buick V8 is a family of V8 engines produced by the Buick division of General Motors (GM) between 1953 and 1981. All were naturally aspirated OHV pushrod engines.

The Buick LeSabre is a full-size car made by the division Buick of General Motors from 1959 until 2005. Prior to 1959, this position had been retained by the full-size Buick Special model (1936–58). The "LeSabre", which is French for "the sabre", was Buick's mid-level full-size sedan above the Special but below the Electra during the 1960s then remained in its market position when the Electra was replaced with the Park Avenue. The LeSabre was available as a 2-door convertible, sedan or hardtop, a 4-door sedan or hardtop and station wagon throughout its production.

The Buick Invicta is a full-size automobile produced by Buick from 1959 to 1963. The Invicta was a continuation of the mid-range Buick Century that mated the standard size Buick LeSabre body with Buick's larger 401 cubic inch Fireball V8 engine. The Invicta continued to be the intermediate hardtop coupe, hardtop sedan, convertible and station wagon, labeled as the Buick Invicta Estate, until it was replaced by the Buick Wildcat as a coupe or sedan, while the station wagon was replaced by the Buick Sport Wagon in 1965.

The Buick Wildcat is a full-size car that was produced by Buick from the 1963 to 1970 model years. Taking its name from a series of 1950s Buick concept cars, the Wildcat replaced the Invicta within the "junior" B-body Buick sedan range. Serving as the higher-performance full-size Buick, the Wildcat was slotted between the LeSabre and the larger C-body Electra.

The General Motors H platform is an automobile platform used by subcompact cars from the 1971 to 1980 model years. The first subcompact car design developed by GM, the rear-wheel drive H platform initially underpinned the Chevrolet Vega and its Pontiac Astre counterpart. For 1975, the H platform was expanded from entry-level vehicles to sport compacts, adding the Chevrolet Monza, Buick Skyhawk, Oldsmobile Starfire, and Pontiac Sunbird.

The GM A platform was a rear wheel drive automobile platform designation used by General Motors from 1925 until 1959, and again from 1964 to 1981. In 1982, GM introduced a new front wheel drive A platform, and existing intermediate rear wheel drive products were redesignated as G-bodies.

Hidden headlamps, also commonly known as pop-up headlamps, pop-up headlights, flip-eye headlamps, or hideaway headlights, are a form of automotive lighting and an automotive styling feature that conceals an automobile's headlamps when they are not in use.

The Buick XP-300 is a concept car created by General Motors in 1951. It is a counterpart to GM's Le Sabre concept, with which it shares many mechanical components, including its supercharged V8 engine, which could run on either gasoline or methanol. The XP-300 is representative of GM's "long and low" design philosophy in the 1950s, and includes numerous innovative features ranging from push-button power windows and seats to hydraulic jacks and de Dion axles.

References

↑ Williams, Nick (2019-04-30). "DriveHistory Profiles: 1951 GM Le Sabre". Historic Vehicle Association (HVA). Retrieved 2020-04-22.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Flory, J. "Kelly", Jr. American Cars 1946-1959 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy, 2008), p.1021.
↑ Earl, Harley J. “Auto designer sees car of future more efficient and easier to drive” (NEA wire-service article). Shawnee (OK) News-Star, 14 December 1951, 15.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Williams, Nick (2019-04-30). "DriveHistory Profiles: 1951 GM Le Sabre". Historic Vehicle Association (HVA). Retrieved 2020-04-22.

[Flory-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Flory, J. "Kelly", Jr. American Cars 1946-1959 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy, 2008), p.1021.

[3] Earl, Harley J. “Auto designer sees car of future more efficient and easier to drive” (NEA wire-service article). Shawnee (OK) News-Star, 14 December 1951, 15.

[1]

[2]

[3]