Buick Wildcat III
The Buick Wildcat III was a concept car built in 1955 that was shown at the 1956 Chicago Auto Show.
The Wildcat III was a 4-passenger reinforced fiberglass concept car, one of the first of it's kind. The back of the car had two bomb-shaped rear bumpers, the front also had two bomb-shaped bumpers that housed parking lights and directional signals. The car’s front and rear styling contained several elements that would appear on the 1956 and 1957 production Buicks.
This was the third Harley Earl designed Wildcat, the Wildcat III was probably the most conservative and realistic of the trio. Perched on a 110-inch wheelbase chassis and measuring 190-inches in overall length, the Wildcat III was quite a bit larger than its predecessors, though it was still smaller than its production counterparts. The reinforced fiberglass body was painted bright red with the car being fitted with a red leather interior.
The Wildcat III was powered with a 280 horsepower V8 engine with four carburettors and was mated to a Twin Turbine Dynaflow automatic transmission.
Though it is not believed to be in existence any longer, the ultimate fate of the Wildcat III was never officially verified. One rumor had it going to the crusher, yet another placed it in a hidden collection waiting for the right time to re-emerge.