I first found and shot this splendid “flying wing” roof Impala 4-door hardtop in 2009 (top), on a visit to in-laws in San Mateo, CA., but it never got a proper write-up. This past week I found it again, just around the corner from where it was last time. The only obvious differences are the signs of aging on its now dull red paint and the patina on its once-white roof. But it’s every bit as amazing as it was in 1960 when I first encountered this body style after our move to the US.
There may aspects of GM’s 1959-1960 cars that were a bit over the top, but the flying wing roof on this body style will go down in history as both unique and superlative. It best captures the essence of this period, and turned these GM 4-door hardtops into a truly unique body style, as the competitions’ were all either trying to look like a 4-door version of the 2-door hardtops or were essentially a 4-door sedan without the pillars. It’s time to pay our respects to its creator and the ultimate manifestation.
The flying roof is credited to the Japanese-American designer Masaji “Bud” Sugano, who first proposed it back in the early ’50s, possibly inspired by the 1953 Studebaker Starliner coupe’s roof. Unfortunately no drawings of his are extant.
The idea was developed by Carl Renner on the 1954 Corvette Nomad and the production 1955 Nomad. It hasn’t yet sprouted the free-flying trailing edge of a wing yet, but the very delicate rear supports and the wrap-around glass are there in full display.
Another variation on the theme was done by Paul Gillan on the 1955 Pontiac Strato Star Motorama concept. The taper at the rear trailing edge is now closer to the final one, even if it’s not yet flying free.
In the wild process that resulted in the radical 1959 GM designs, the flying roof seems to have appeared first on this Pontiac design, which is not attributed. This was during the phase when the early ideas for the ’59’s were tossed out after seeing the actual ’57 Chrysler cars, but before their definitive shape, dictated by Buick’s concept, was adopted.
Although most of the concepts by Buick and the other division studios had the more traditional sloping 6-window roofs that were used on the sedan versions of the ’59s, the flying roof did show up on this Buick clay. Given that this already is very close to the definitive body adopted and used by all the divisions, it’s possible that the Pontiac was the first to use it, but that’s in the realm of speculation.
As to Sugano, there’s very little information (or pictures) about him readily available, although I suspect that may well be him doing some air brushing at 3:47 in this video, which is well worth ten minutes of your time. I did find an insightful comment left by a Sheldon Payne at a Dean’s Garage post on GM Design VP Chuck Jordan:
Yes, the good old days.
Well, that’s about as much of a tribute in words as we can give Mr. Sugano, so let’s take some more looks at the handiwork inspired by him on the actual 1960 Chevrolet, with a mixture of my shots from 2009 and 2024.
Here it is, in its full glory. Given the ’60 Chevrolet’s more horizontal wings, it feels to me that the flying wing is more organic on this than any other of the GM ’59-’60 cars. It’s an extravagant layer cake of horizontal lines, elements and details, all pointing to the rear. There’s three flying wings here, and they work in concert.
The roof seems to almost float above the lower half of the car.
It’s such an utter contrast to modern cars with their bunker-slit windows and rear seat caves. It’s even a bigger contrast from the inside. Can you imagine sitting back here?
Of course the interior was almost identical to the ’59 with the exception of the pattern and other details of the upholstery. This front seat has obviously been recovered.
The 1960 refresh had to minimize extensive (read: expensive) changes to the exterior skin, so it was mostly limited to the outermost layer and some recontouring.
The most obvious visual elements were the rear horizontal fins, which were now made from two straight sections, the new rear fascia with the two and three taillights, a feature that would become a recurring Chevrolet styling feature after being previewed in 1958. Good bye cat’s eye taillights.
The rather blunt and simplified front end eliminated the distinctive eyebrows. I do rather miss the ’59’s more complex and sculptural front end and of course its rear end is the height of late-fifties excess. But this does tone things down a bit in accord with the beginnings of a new decade that was ready to move on from all of that. 1961-1964 would be a period of relative stylistic sobriety until new extravagances reappeared on the GM line in 1965. The ebb and flow of excess and restraint.
The ’59 Chevy along with the ’59 Caddy have become icons of that grand finale. That leaves the 1960 Chevy as a bit of an afterthought, but a rather well-done one. One might image that if the exuberance wasn’t quite so unrestrained when the ’59s were being born, something like this might have been the result. But who can imagine a world where there was no ’59 Chevy or Cadillac?
I like to park my xB next to certain old cars to aid in the contrast and perspective, but in this case a VW bus will have to do, and very well at that.
PS: Sugano’s flying roof lived on through 1964 in the lovely Corvair 4-door sedan, thanks to Ed Nickles and Carl Renner (once again). I rather suspect the roof it was Renner’s doing, as stylists like to reprise their successes, and it certainly complemented the Corvair’s high horizontal beltline. My first car was a white ’63 Monza 4-door exactly like this one, so yes, call me a fan of Misters Sugano and Renner.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1960 Chevrolet Impala – Gullwing, Take Two by Tom Klockau
Vintage SIA Design History: “GM’s Far Out ’59s – When Imagination Ran Rampant”, Part 2
Vintage SIA Design History: “GM’s Far Out ’59s – When Imagination Ran Rampant”, Part 2
Curbside Classic: 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne – The Original Art Car by PN
CC For Sale: 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air – Truly “Like New” With Only 12,400 Miles by Stephen Pellegrino
Curbside Classic: 1960 Chevrolet Nomad – Out on Parole by Jason Shafer
My family had a 1961 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 4 door that had this roofline, but I did not know what it was called. The back window did not wrap around as much as it did on this Chevy. It was big enough that one hot day the rear window did shattered while the car was parked in the driveway. My dad, the engineer, then gave me a lesson in thermal stress and tempered glass.
I don’t have any photos but I found one of a Super 88 on Bring a Trailer.
I never fully appreciated how “glassy” these are until seeing your interior photos, Paul–they really bring it home.
The Mercury of the time was pretty “glassy”–especially up front–but had nothing like the flying roof (thanks for outlining its lineage so nicely).
I’ll guess the San Mateo car isn’t garaged, but will hope it’s still being looked after well.
Larry Shinoda, probably responsible for the batwings, had a very similar life story.
Random thoughts:
As a small child these Chevies seemed even more dramatic than the biggest-finned Chryslers and Cadillacs. The horizontal orientation of the fins had something to do with that, I think.
Good thing yesterday’s tornado didn’t hit San Mateo! That roof (not to mention the rear glass) would not have survived if that Chevy had been one of the cars that got hit.
I noticed the Miller dealership license plate frame from Lone Pine. No more car dealerships in that small California town, but Miller’s Towing (presumably related) still exists and is famous as the go-to place to call for an extraction from the more remote off-pavement parts of Death Valley. It’s supposedly $3000 to get a flatbed tow from Saline Valley.
Finally, it’s taken me a while to appreciate the ‘59-60 Chevies after my childhood trauma, but compared to the pudgy and overwrought ‘58, they have aged very well.
100% agree, the flying edge roof was inspired on these cars, the perfect complement to the ’59 and ’60 4 dr HT bodies, the ’59 Buick being my personal favorite. I also love the eyebrows on the ’59 Chev and lament it’s passing, or at least passing on to the trucks, which are also my favorite truck front=end designs. You can sort of see it a bit in some newer GM trucks with lights above the headlights and a small upper grille.
I recall a story related to me 40 years ago from my mentor. As a young street racer back in the early 1960’s he was told local police in Queens NY were ordered not to engage in high speed chases with their 59 or 60 Chevy sedans. It was discovered that their rear fins produced lift, negatively effecting handling and causing a few accidents.
All the new cars suck. Especially compared to this.
Kia has tried to outweird the competition, and a few of them will be genuine classics. But overall, the cars are no fun and the trucks try to look masculine like the storied 57 GMC and the much unloved equivalent Dodges. Ford has exhibited the most restraint but of course the powertrain is garbage.