1959 Scimitar EX All-Purpose Sedan
In 1958, designer Brooks Stevens created three Scimitar show cars on commission from Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation to make a practical case for aluminum in automotive construction. The series consisted of a Hardtop Convertible, a Town Car Phaeton, and this All-Purpose Sedan.
All three cars carry the same exterior treatment: brushed and anodized aluminum fenders, bumpers, grille, and wheel discs set against upswept black steel side panels, a curved contrast that gave the series its name.
The All-Purpose Sedan’s defining feature is a retracting roof section over the extended rear compartment, converting the wagon to an open hauler; Stevens later applied the format to production sliding-roof wagons on the Studebaker Lark.
The chassis is a 1959 Chrysler New Yorker, fitted with the 413 CI V8 at 350 hp through a Carter AFB four-barrel and TorqueFlite three-speed automatic. Bodies were executed by Karosseriewerk Reutter of Stuttgart, best known for Porsche 356 production bodywork.
The Scimitars debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1959 before touring the American car show circuit. The All-Purpose Sedan entered the National Automobile Museum (formerly Harrah’s) in Reno, Nevada in 1965.
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