The Mercury XM-800 is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

created by Mercury and first introduced at the 1954

Chicago Auto Show The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center. It is the largest auto show in North America. Event History Samuel Miles, formerly a promoter of bicycle shows, produced the first "official" ...

. In newspaper publicity at its 1954 debut, in Chicago and elsewhere, it was presented with its full name, Mercury Monterey XM-800. The XM, or experimental Mercury, "push car" (meaning that it was not drivable) went the 1954 US auto show circuit season. Although it was promoted by Ford as an "advanced design, engineered to go into volume production,” the XM 800 never passed the concept phase.

Background

The show car was designed by

John Najjar John Najjar (; – ) was an American designer and executive stylist at Ford Motor Company. He is credited for having co-designed the first prototype of the Ford Mustang known as Ford Mustang I with Philip T. Clark. Career Najjar was born to ...

. He was also responsible for the 1955

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show car and the mid-engine

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experimental sports car of 1962. Much of the car's appearance and styling cues were later used on the

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, and other Ford and Mercury products during the mid-1950s. The concept model was built by Creative Industries of Detroit on a modified Mercury frame with a 1954 Mercury V8 engine with dual exhausts. It features a low fiberglass body with much of its trim was also made out of chrome plated fiberglass and an interior with four bucket seats. In early 1957 Ford donated the XM 800 to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

's Automotive Engineering Lab for use in training "future" automotive engineers. A March 1957 article in the campus's student newspaper gives details of the then-recent donation, stating that the vehicle "was styled by William Schmidt of Mercury." After the automotive school closed, the show car was auctioned to a private individual who stored it in a barn, but never returned. It was sold again and stored for almost 30 years before being sold on 2008. The car was restored and made operational and finally drove under its own power in 2009. Subsequently, the car was auctioned in 2010 for $429,000. It was shown at the 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercury Xm-800 Concept cars XM-800 University of Michigan