Development
During development of the Hudson Jet line, chief designer Frank Spring wanted to bring a low-slung stylish car to Hudson's model range. Lacking sufficient capital to develop a new model, Hudson reached an agreement for a prototype to be built in Milan by Carrozzeria Touring. A complete Hudson Jet was shipped to Italy. A new aluminum body design, based on sketches by Frank Spring, was formed over tubular framing. Modifications by Touring were under the supervision of Spring and Hudson's vice-president, Stuart Baits. The price paid by Hudson for this concept car was reported to be only $28,000. The car was on display at Hudson dealerships across the country by late 1953, and received positive customer reaction. It was on exhibited at automobile shows in the U.S. and some in Europe, as well as at the International Sports Car Show held in January 1954.
.This car first appeared under the "Super Jet" name and featured numerous advancements including its aluminum body, wraparound windshield (reminiscent of the 1953 Corvette), doors that cut 14 inches (356 mm) into the roof (also called aircraft doors) for easier entry and exit. In part because of Hudson's "step-down" floorpan, which dated to 1948, the Italia was 9 in (229 mm) lower than the Jet, but shared its 105 in (2,667 mm) wheelbase. The prototype also featured Borrani chrome wire wheels and its column mounted three-speed transmission included an overdrive unit.
The Hudson Italia was similar to the concept developed by Ford for its original Mustang, as it was "a small, sporty, eye-catching coupe that fairly bristled with styling innovations. The Italia was about the same size as the Mustang, and like Ford's "pony car" it borrowed its mechanical components from the company's existing compact sedan. But it pre-dated the Mustang by a full 10 years."
The concept was an effort by Hudson to capitalize on the notoriety of show cars, as the Chrysler Ghia had done.
Read more about this topic: Hudson Italia
Famous quotes containing the word development:
“This was the Eastham famous of late years for its camp- meetings, held in a grove near by, to which thousands flock from all parts of the Bay. We conjectured that the reason for the perhaps unusual, if not unhealthful development of the religious sentiment here, was the fact that a large portion of the population are women whose husbands and sons are either abroad on the sea, or else drowned, and there is nobody but they and the ministers left behind.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“... work is only part of a man’s life; play, family, church, individual and group contacts, educational opportunities, the intelligent exercise of citizenship, all play a part in a well-rounded life. Workers are men and women with potentialities for mental and spiritual development as well as for physical health. We are paying the price today of having too long sidestepped all that this means to the mental, moral, and spiritual health of our nation.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“As a final instance of the force of limitations in the development of concentration, I must mention that beautiful creature, Helen Keller, whom I have known for these many years. I am filled with wonder of her knowledge, acquired because shut out from all distraction. If I could have been deaf, dumb, and blind I also might have arrived at something.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)