General Motors Le Sabre

The General Motors Le Sabre is a concept car from 1951 that is often called the most important show car of the 1950s. It was the idea of General Motors Art Department head Harley Earl, who wanted to bring the look of a modern jet fighter into car design, and it introduced the wrap-around windshield and the tail fins that spread across American cars later in the decade. The body used aluminium, magnesium and fibreglass over a supercharged aluminium V8 that could burn petrol or methanol, and it was GM's first transaxle. Earl drove it himself for two years, and it is now owned by the GM Heritage Center. Buick later reused the name for the 1959 LeSabre.