The 1960 Plymouth XNR was a concept car developed by Chrysler and Plymouth and designed by Virgil Exner as a sports roadster to add to the Plymouth line and possibly compete with the Ford Falcon and the Chevrolet Corvette. There exists a 1:1 replica of Exner's Plymouth XNR in the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California, designed by Mark Towle and the Gotham Garage team as seen on Car Masters: Rust to Riches.

Plymouth XNR
The 1960 Plymouth XNR concept car at the 2014 Lime Rock Concours d'Élégance.
Overview
Manufacturer	Plymouth
Model years	1960
Designer	Virgil Exner
Body and chassis
Class	Concept car
Body style	Roadster
Layout	FR layout
Doors	2 doors
Dimensions
Length	195.2 inches / 4.958 meters
Width	71 inches / 1.803 meters
Height	43 inches / 1.092 meters

Background

In the late 1940s America's motor industry saw a time of innovation and revolutionary car designs. Car designs emerged with styling cues such as fins and streamline bodies derived from various jets, rockets and other aircraft. Plymouth, in contrast to its competitors, valued engineering supremacy more than visual appeal.

Eventually sales for Chrysler slowed, causing Chrysler to realize that their absence of style in their automobiles was taking its toll on marketing. In 1947 Virgil Exner, an automobile designer, changed Chrysler's designs into streamline cars, sharply contrasting from their previously squarish car bodies.

What Chrysler was lacking was a two-seater roadster to compete with General Motors's Chevrolet Corvette. For the shorter length needed for a roadster, the chassis of the Plymouth Valiant was adopted. A 170cid I-6 engine with outputs of more than 200 horsepower was a suitable choice.

Shortly after, the Plymouth Asimmetrica was born. It was renamed Plymouth XNR after its designer, Virgil Exner. The XNR sported a modified Plymouth Valiant chassis about 106.5 inches long.[1]

The XNR produced about 250 horsepower and could reach speeds of 150 miles per hour. However, The Plymouth XNR never made it to production and was shipped back to where it was built - Carrozzeria Ghia in Italy.[2]

Specifications

Sales and history after development

Virgil Exner showed interest in buying it but was unable to do so. “My dad wanted to buy it, but if it had stayed in the U.S., it would have to have been destroyed,”- Virgil Exner jr.[4] After it was shipped back to Ghia, an unknown Swiss man purchased the Plymouth XNR and then sold it to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. Afterwards it was sold again to Anwar al Mulla, a Kuwaiti car dealer. It was sold again in the early 1970s to a man in Lebanon where it resided in underground storage until Karim Edde found the car hidden during the Lebanese Civil war(1975-1991). He recognized it and kept it in various locations to preserve it from the carnage of the Civil war. After the war the car was sent to RM Restorations in Canada in 2008 and was finished by 2011.[5] It was sold on August 18, 2012 for $935,000 [6] at the RM's Monterey auction.[7]

Plymouth Asimmetrica Roadster by Ghia

In October 1961, Ghia presented the Asimmetrica Roadster at the Turin Motor Show. The car wears a toned down version of the XNR design and was sold new to Georges Simenon. Chassis number 1102224086 was sold at RM Sotheby's 2018 Monterey Car Week auction for $335,000 (inclusive of applicable buyer's fee).[8]

Bibliography

• Burgess, Scott. “Plymouth XNR Concept Parks on the Auction Block [W/video].” Autoblog, http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/28/plymouth-xnr-concept-parks-on-the-auction-block-w-video/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2017.
• D, Nick. 1960 Plymouth XNR | Plymouth | SuperCars.net. http://www.supercars.net/blog/1960-plymouth-xnr/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2017.
• Gross, Ken. “1960 Plymouth XNR Concept Drive - Motor Trend Classic.” Motor Trend, 3 Jan. 2013, http://www.motortrend.com/news/12q2-1960-plymouth-xnr-classic-drive/.
• Hart, Roger. “ESCAPE ROADS: 1960 Plymouth XNR, Virgil Exner’s Dream Car.” Autoweek, http://autoweek.com/article/car-life/escape-roads-1960-plymouth-xnr-virgil-exners-dream-car. Accessed 19 Feb. 2017.
• Valdes-Dapena, Peter. “Shah of Iran’s Plymouth XNR Sells for $935,000.” CNNMoney, 19 Aug. 2012, https://money.cnn.com/2012/08/19/autos/plymouth-xnr-auction/index.html.

References

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