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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - A curvy dream from America

Name: Chevrolet Bel Air 1956
Brand: Chevrolet

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Created on March 23, 2020

Text:

Daniel Koch

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv GM/General Motors

AR Archiv

Artcurial

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv GM/General Motors

AR Archiv

Artcurial

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - The eye-catching two-tone paintwork emphasizes the tail fins and rear fenders

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - even the lettering looks elegant

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Without a B-pillar, the two-door car almost became a convertible with open windows

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - The rear is emphasized by the two-tone paintwork

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Lots of chrome all round was in fashion

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Wide bench seat without lateral support

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Cockpit with borrowings from aircraft design

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - fittings almost like in an airplane

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Light switch next to the speedometer

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Adjusting the heating and ventilation

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Volume control in the cockpit

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - It also proudly bears the Bel Air lettering in front of the front passenger

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - To give the passenger something to do, a kind of cockpit was also built into the car

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Clock for the passenger

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Manual opening of the windows - electric windows were available as an option

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Interior light

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - The radiator grille appears to be modeled on a jet plane

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - The radiator figure appears to be modeled on a jet engine

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Proudly bearing the trademark on the hood

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - I wonder if the designers had a rocket in mind here

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Bel Air lettering - exclusive to the two-door models until 1953

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Playful tail lights

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - The headlight is also a rear-view mirror

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Headlight adjustable from the inside

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Even the rear window was curved in a panoramic shape

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - When lots of chrome was still in fashion

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - The designers could still let off steam here

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - Over the entire production period, up to 10 different engines were available at the same time

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1956) - 6- and 8-cylinder engines were offered

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Chevrolet Bel Air 4-Door Sedan (1957) - in contrast to the "Sport Sedan" with continuous B-pillars

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Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible (1953) - first year for the convertible

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1953) - Four-door model at the Paris Motor Show

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Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe (1960) - Large and expansive hardtop coupé

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Chevrolet Bel Air 4-Door Sedan (1959) - four-door sedan

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Chevrolet Bel Air (1953) - Four-door sedan

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Chevrolet Bel Air 4-Door Sedan (1962) - smoothed again

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Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad (1957) - two-door sports wagon

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Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible (1955) - Lady with hat

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Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe "Ringo Starr" (1957) - auctioned as lot 383 at the Artcurial Rétromobile auction on February 7, 2014 in Paris

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Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Sport Coupe (1958) - not yet an independent model series, but an upscale version of the Bel Air. Only available as a coupé and convertible

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Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Convertible (1958) - in the color "Glen Green" to match the swimming pool

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Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Sport Coupe (1958) - The following year, the leaping antelope became its own model series

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Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible (1955) - Indianapolis 500 Pace Car

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Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe (1962) - With smoothed shapes

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Chevrolet Bel Air Coupé (1976) - offered as lot 51 at the Artcurial "On the Road" auction on October 9, 2016

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Summary

When low fuel consumption was not a sales argument and designers were still allowed to live out their creativity, Chevrolet let the Bel Air roll into showrooms. It rolled off the production line in several generations until 1975, and in Canada even until 1981. Of course, the last models had little to do with the opulent body shapes of the 1950s. This report tells the story of the elegant coupé and shows it in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Inspired by airplanes
Swiss Chevy
Naming
Proven designer
Typical fifties
Hardly aerodynamic reasons
Image change
Sporting successes
Bigger is better

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In 1956, Dwight. D. Eisenhower won the American presidential election for the second time, while Fidel Castro began the armed struggle with his revolution in Cuba. Meanwhile, movie star Grace Kelly left the USA to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and Elvis stormed the charts with the song "Heartbreak Hotel". The Chevrolet Bel Air 2 door hardtop fitted perfectly into this scene, as our portrayed second-generation coupé dates from the same year. In 1956, the world was in the middle of the "Jet Age"; the magazine "hobby - Das Magazin der Technik" ran the following headline in November 1955: "England believes in the Comet 4", the further development of the passenger jet whose first scheduled flights were overshadowed by a series of tragic crashes. The car designers were enthusiastic about the aviation theme, and so not only did the tail lights of the Bel Air look like afterburners, the radiator grille also appeared to be based on an airplane.

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