Discover the Story of the Cadillac XP-74 Cyclone – A Dream Car Ahead of Its Time!
The Cadillac XP-74 Cyclone was not just a concept car – it was a vision of the future. Designed by the legendary Harley Earl in the late 1950s, this futuristic vehicle showcased jet-inspired styling, radar-based crash prevention systems, and a bubble canopy that made it look like a spacecraft on wheels.
In this video, we take you through the incredible history of the Cyclone, a car that captured the imagination of future GM design chief Ed Welburn as a child. From its sleek body to its cutting-edge ideas, the Cyclone represented the golden era of GM's Motorama dream cars.
🔹 Designed by: Harley Earl
🔹 Final touches by: Bill Mitchell
🔹 Inspiration: Aircraft, Futurism, Innovation
🔹 First shown: 1959 GM Motorama
Watch till the end to see how this one-of-a-kind concept influenced generations of automotive designers and why it remains one of the most iconic dream cars in GM’s history.
🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more amazing stories from the world of classic and concept cars!
#CadillacCyclone #ConceptCar #HarleyEarl #FutureDesign #VintageCars #GMHistory #ClassicCars #Motorama #CarLovers #DesignInspiration
The Cadillac XP-74 Cyclone was not just a concept car – it was a vision of the future. Designed by the legendary Harley Earl in the late 1950s, this futuristic vehicle showcased jet-inspired styling, radar-based crash prevention systems, and a bubble canopy that made it look like a spacecraft on wheels.
In this video, we take you through the incredible history of the Cyclone, a car that captured the imagination of future GM design chief Ed Welburn as a child. From its sleek body to its cutting-edge ideas, the Cyclone represented the golden era of GM's Motorama dream cars.
🔹 Designed by: Harley Earl
🔹 Final touches by: Bill Mitchell
🔹 Inspiration: Aircraft, Futurism, Innovation
🔹 First shown: 1959 GM Motorama
Watch till the end to see how this one-of-a-kind concept influenced generations of automotive designers and why it remains one of the most iconic dream cars in GM’s history.
🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more amazing stories from the world of classic and concept cars!
#CadillacCyclone #ConceptCar #HarleyEarl #FutureDesign #VintageCars #GMHistory #ClassicCars #Motorama #CarLovers #DesignInspiration
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MotorTranscript
00:00This article first appeared in the summer 2011 issue of Motor Trend Classic.
00:05He's encrusted in the hub of the steering wheel, St. Christopher.
00:09He's the patron saint of travelers, embossed in the metal typically found on the dashboards of faithful Roman Catholics worldwide.
00:18Street Christopher, protect us, it reads.
00:21Indeed, Ed Welburn doesn't want me to drive the car.
00:24Motor Trend Classic always drives the subject, even priceless Motorama dream cars that can't, or shouldn't, be driven more than a quarter mile at 30 miles per hour tops.
00:36Slow, careful drives say something about acceleration, braking, handling, ride, and what kind of vibe a car exudes.
00:44Welburn was about 9 years old when he saw the Cadillac Cyclone at an auto show in his native Philadelphia, probably in early 1960.
00:52I just remember it was white with big fins, in a bed of angel hair.
00:58Welburn's father had taught Ed how to draw at age 3.
01:02When he saw the XP 74 Cadillac Cyclone 6 years later, the younger Welburn decided, right then and there, what he wanted to be.
01:12At age 11, I wrote GM and told them I wanted to be a car designer when I grew up.
01:18I asked for information, schools, training.
01:21They sent good information, Welburn said in a 2008 Motor Trend interview.
01:27GM hired Welburn, its first African American designer, in 1972.
01:33The XP 74 was Harley Earl's last gasp, his final dream car before retiring and turning the candy store keys over to Bill Mitchell.
01:43Alfred P. Sloan hired Earl, GM's first design chief, in 1927.
01:49Earl hired Mitchell in December 1935, and after serving in the Navy during World War II followed by a stint at Earl's private company, Mitchell returned to GM.
02:00He finally replaced his mentor on December 1st, 1958, just as the automakers' 1959s were catching up with Chrysler's longer, lower, wider 1957 models.
02:14Though Earl was 65, timing was key.
02:18Earl's aesthetic was slipping as he added more chrome and gingerbread to cars like the 1958 Oldsmobiles, Buicks, and Cadillacs.
02:27His proposals for the 59 models would have carried over 58 bodies.
02:32A year before Earl's retirement, he was assigned overseas while Mitchell took over 59 styling, resulting in new bodies from the Batwing, Chevrolet Impala to the outrageously finned Cadillacs.
02:47Earl returned to Detroit in time to foster XP 74 in spring 1958.
02:53Called a running show car in memos preserved at the GM Heritage Center.
02:57It's rendered in steel, not fiberglass.
03:01Cadillac unveiled the Cyclone on February 21st, 1959, part of the week-long grand opening of the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
03:12Though Earl had already retired, he appeared as a consultant to introduce the Cyclone, which by now belonged to Mitchell.
03:20Veteran GM designer Carl Renner is credited with drawing the 59 Cyclone, which predicts the 61 Cadillac profile.
03:30Single large, round, afterburner tail lamps hint at the 61's dual-round lamps housed in chrome nacelles.
03:37Though jet aircraft-inspired, the nose cones bookending the grille are as much Jane Mansfield as McDonnell F3H Demon.
03:46Quad headlamps flip up from the grille.
03:48Built as a unibody, the Cyclone is 196.9 inches long on a 104-inch wheelbase and is 44 inches tall.
03:59All 1959 Cadillacs, except for Series 75, were 225 inches long on a 130-inch wheelbase.
04:10It was Mitchell's first opportunity to impact Cadillac, Welburn says.
04:14It's lean, more sheer, a smaller Cadillac.
04:17This is the bridge car.
04:20It's more Harley Earl than Bill Mitchell, but it has Bill Mitchell's influence.
04:25The 390-cubic-inch V8 is out of the 59 Cadillac catalog.
04:32Early memos indicate Cadillac was supposed to supply a fuel injection system, though it has a low-profile 4-barrel Carter carburetor to clear the low hump.
04:41It's listed at 325 horsepower, 20 ponies short of the production Cadillacs.
04:48There are no specs for maximum RPM or torque.
04:51Other modifications include a cross-flow aluminum radiator and two fans.
04:56A 2-speed rear axle doubles the hydromatic transmissions gear ratios.
05:01The 4-mounted gear shift offers, from top to bottom, right and left, P, N, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and R, with a red lever to switch from the odd-numbered forward gears on the left to the even-numbered forward gears on the right.
05:19The car has proximity sensors in the nose cones, designed to follow sensors embedded in a road, preventing crashes and allowing hands-free driving.
05:29The Jetfighter bubble top was designed to rise automatically when sensors detected rain.
05:35The two doors slide back minivan-style, and the one-piece rear clip stows the bubble.
05:40Top, clamshell style.
05:42GM rushed its Phase 1 build-up one month to December 1958, and unveiled the Cyclone, without such items as the proximity sensors or a properly working transmission, in order to get it to Daytona by February.
05:57Mitchell scheduled Phase 2 and Phase 3 after Daytona.
06:00Phase 2 returned XP-74 to styling for modifications, repairs and completion, and installation of originally planned equipment, so the Cyclone would be ready for various displays around the country or car shows.
06:16According to a March 4, 1959, memo from GM program planner R.L. Dressel, Phase 3 would prepare XP-74 for road use.
06:27Earl's XP-74 was painted white, with GM Air transport logos on the outer faces of the tail fins.
06:36Mitchell wanted to quickly replace the 59, high tail fins with the ones you see now, and to respray the car's silver pearlescent lucite.
06:45His new fins would have hinted at the 61 Cadillac's upper fins.
06:49The fins on the lower rear fuselage of both versions already predicted the 61 model's styling.
06:55Redoing an existing motorama, dream, or concept car was Mitchell's style more than Earl's.
07:03Under Earl, motoramas seemed to have at least one new concept per division virtually every year beginning in 1949.
07:11With motoramas winding down, Mitchell regularly updated and upgraded certain concepts, without building an all-new property as they're known.
07:20Consider the way he regularly updated running Corvette concepts.
07:25Mitchell first hoped to redo the paint and tail fins immediately after Daytona, for the 1959 auto show circuit.
07:33A memo dated April 2, 1959, reversed this.
07:38According to Mr. W.L. Mitchell's verbal instructions, the existing tail fins on the rear deck panel of the subject automobile will remain intact for Phase 2.
07:48The fabrication of the new design tail fins will continue, and the finished parts will be installed for Phase 3, reads the memo, signed by 1 W.C. Skelly.
07:59Phase 2 installed a locking mechanism to hold the canopy onto the body rather than the windshield header, while Delco installed the radar components in the nose cones.
08:09A luggage rack planned since Phase 1 apparently never happened.
08:14One memo suggested Street Christopher would be replaced with a Speed Sentinel in the steering wheel hub, but that change was scrubbed as well.
08:22The Cyclone made the rounds of the auto show circuit with its 59.
08:26Style fins through early 1964, according to the memos.
08:31It appears Mitchell lost interest in updating Earl's car after Phase 2.
08:35With the motoramas ending after 1961, Mitchell was incredibly prolific during these years, in charge of designs of numerous Corvette concepts.
08:45The C2 and C3 Stingrays, the Buick Riviera, the 64A bodies, Chevelle et al, and the 65B and C bodies, to name a few.
08:56The fins finally came down about April 1964.
09:00GM planned to present the revised XP-74 at the New York International Auto Show that month, then delayed its reintroduction for the New York World's Fair, where it replaced the XP-777 Monza GT Coupe on the United Delco display.
09:18Mitchell's new fins came with a paint job, a new egg crate radiator grille, redesigned center knock-off hubs for the wheel covers, and revised backup and brake lamps.
09:28The Cyclone was scheduled to be on display at the World's Fair through November 1964.
09:34By that time, Cadillac would have introduced all new 1965 models, which replaced the 64 fin design that more closely resembled the Cyclones.
09:44The XP-74 went on to appear in a few Canadian shows in 1966 and 67.
09:51Welburn became GM's design vice president in 2003.
09:54In the last eight years, he's revitalized the department, reviving Studio X, the super-secret design chamber few top executives could find on their own.
10:05On the side, he's brought out such gems as the Cadillac Cyclone for inspiration.
10:11He's no more interested in retro styling than peers at competing companies.
10:16The Earl and Mitchell era define each GM brand's DNA.
10:20The Cyclone represents the epic of the aerospace influence, which Earl launched with soft, subtle fins on the 1948 Cadillac, to the point that the whole body was a fuselage, like the 1959-60 Cyclone.
10:36Designers often sketched a proposal with a car parked next to a jet aircraft.
10:42Car design got really inspired from that, he says.
10:45The XP-74 is part of the very fabric of GM, and especially Cadillac, design.
10:52I must drive the XP-74, even if Welburn would rather talk about it and have it photographed.
10:58The design chief finally gives in with these chilling words.
11:02Just keep in the back of your mind that you're driving my childhood dream.
11:06The limited speeds allowed on GM's Warren, Michigan, campus won't be a concern.
11:12Though employees in Chevy Volts, GMC Terrains, and Buick La Crosse's zip around without concern for a 52-year-old heirloom lumbering about.
11:21The Cyclone is a real car and can be driven like any Eisenhower-slash-JFKR Caddy.
11:29Like all those surviving 57-60 Pininfarina Eldorado Brugams, the Cyclone's air suspension has been replaced with period-correct steel springs.
11:40It's a chilly morning as I climb in with the bubble top stowed in the trunk.
11:44The long, stainless steel-encrusted steering column puts the street Christopher medal in my gut, like the driving position in a 50s Formula One racer.
11:54The seat cushion is long, and the seatback seems short.
11:58This was done for Harley Earl's proportions, Welburn says of the seating position.
12:03He had long legs and a short torso.
12:07I need to stretch my right leg to reach the throttle and brake pedals, both hinged on the floor.
12:12The dashboard mixes 1959 state-of-the-art features with future tech that never happened.
12:19Proximity and stopping distance gauges atop the center stack were for the nose cone sensors.
12:25Other gauges cover manifold pressure, fuel, amps, an 8,000 RPM tachometer, a 200 miles per hour speedometer, and the biggest surprise, a Breitling clock.
12:36The odometer shows just 904 miles and, aircraft-style, 14,730.9 hours.
12:46If the proposed transaxle ever was hooked up, my limited drive on the grounds of the Aero-Sarinen-designed GM Tech Center and Design Studios doesn't reveal any more than three hydromatic gears.
12:58There's a public address system to speak with pedestrians when the canopy is up.
13:04The XP-74 would make a good rainy day parade car.
13:09There are seat-slash-skin AM radio controls forward of the center armrest, a Chrysler turbine-like grooved cylindrical transmission hump cover, and a grab handle where the glove box should be.
13:20The driver's door has a mail slot for toll roads, for when the bubble top is up.
13:26I start with it down.
13:27If you smell raw gas, there's no air cleaner.
13:31The handler, a long-time GM employee, warns.
13:35It turns over quickly, with a twist of the key.
13:38Raw gas?
13:39The top is down, and the dual exhaust pipes open between the doors and front wheels.
13:44I'm more concerned with burnt gas blowing into the cockpit.
13:49No wonder it has just 904 miles.
13:52The 390 Cube V8 has oodles of torque, and my tiffins are too heavy at first, prompting considerable squat from the soft rear suspension.
14:02The steering is as you'd expect.
14:04Lean back in the seat, choose a convenient finger, and use it to make turns.
14:09It turns in quickly, though, and is exceedingly easy to maneuver for a two-seater that's 5.3 inches longer than a modern CTS.
14:18After all, the wheelbase isn't much longer than its dash-to-axle ratio.
14:24One-two shifts are smoother than I'd expect from an aging hydromatic.
14:28The car can get up and go, even if not to 200 miles per hour, and I'm wishing I could take it out, unlicensed, on the freeway.
14:36Hold on. St. Christopher, here's an idea.
14:40If the cyclone isn't licensed for public roads, let me fly it.
14:44The handler hesitates to raise the bubble top.
14:47He does it with the help of our photographer.
14:50It was supposed to have a power top, but the two must carefully lift it out of the trunk, then slide it up and over me as I'm in the driver's seat.
14:58Getting in and out through the low sliding door with the top-up requires the kind of limbo dance I could manage better back in the early 60s.
15:07Still, whoa, top-up is cool.
15:10The Cadillac Cyclone isn't just the bridge between Earl and Mitchell.
15:13It's the bridge between the cars we got and the flying cars we were promised.
15:19With the 360-degree view just slightly yellowed, the bubble top Cyclone feels like a fighter jet ready to accompany Slim Pickensby, 52, flying under the radar in Dr. Strangelove.
15:32It's an aerospace future version of the cars I remember from my childhood, though a notch or three higher up the Sloan price ladder.
15:41If I could drive it faster, I'd catch and shoot down that Soviet mate, or at least pass George Jetson's family car.
15:50I think of this car as a concept, up there on that angel hair, Welburn says.
15:55Look at the shape of the windshield.
15:57It's so much newer than anything else from its time.
16:00Welburn then reveals why he didn't want me to drive it.
16:03He never has.
16:05I worry that driving it will take a little bit of the magic.
16:09Spoken like a car designer, it's about the way it looks.
16:12There's nothing in a late 50s Cadillac's driving dynamics that will add to the car's cachet.
16:18Similarly, you've got to love Earl and Mitchell for what they did, not who they were.
16:23Take Mitchell.
16:24As our photographer clicks his last shots of the cyclone behind GM's design dome, and the sun begins to set.
16:31The GM car handler recalls the day he retrieved Phil Mitchell's Ferrari-powered 1971 Pontiac Firebird Pegasus.
16:39Motor Trend Classic March-April 2006 from Mitchell's garage after he retired in 1977.
16:48It took me days to get all the NRA stickers off the car.
16:52Mr. Mitchell loved his guns.
16:54The handler pauses, then attempts to make the firearm obsession benign.
16:59He collected guns.
17:01Welburn, the handler, and I are standing side by side, watching David Frears shoot photos as the sun lowers behind the design dome.
17:10The brief silence is long enough to consider all the car guys I know who also love guns.
17:15Just as I begin to wonder about my car guy credentials because I've never fired a gun,
17:21Welburn breaks the silence in his low, soft voice, offering a better second obsession.
17:27One Tom Waits and St. Christopher might appreciate.
17:31One exceedingly appropriate for the style and lifestyle the XP-74 exudes.
17:36I don't collect guns.
17:38Another long pause.
17:40I collect cocktail shakers.