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GMC L'Universelle - radical mid-engined luxury van

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Created on January 10, 2021

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

GM/General Motors

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GM/General Motors

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - with dazzling copper-red paintwork

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Chevrolet Suburban Carryall (1935) - early station wagon with increased utility

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Chevrolet Suburban (1951) - basically a pickup with a station wagon rear end

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - Concept ideas

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - design drawings, here the car was still called "Expedier"

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - design drawing, sleek shape also thanks to considerable width

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - Chassis and drive train

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - the chassis with the V8 drivetrain installed upside down

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - with folding side doors ("Cargo Doors")

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - low loading floor and folding tailgate

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - Surprise at the Motorama 1955

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - staging at the Motorama, as if from the future

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - an admired surfer's car

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GMC L'Universelle (1955) - Patent drawing, patent filed in 1956, granted in 1958

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Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier Sports Wagon (1961) - the bus in the style of the VW Bus

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Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier Sports Wagon (1961) - front view of the minibus

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Summary

As every year, the 1955 GM Motorama Show featured elegant, flat and beautifully shaped sports and luxury cars. In between, however, there was a delivery van that was quite out of line, because with its mid-engine, front-wheel drive and luxury interior, it did not fit in at all with the image that was generally held of a commercial vehicle. The public was enthusiastic and it almost went into series production. This report looks back to the 1950s and describes the creation of the dream van GMC L'Universelle, illustrated by many pictures from the time.

This article contains the following chapters

Motorama star
Beginning on a greenfield site
Focus on the use
Revolutionary concept
Creativity across company boundaries
With plastic bodywork
Hardly any impact on series production

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

By the mid-fifties, the standard drive for more powerful and larger passenger cars had become established as a practically universal concept, i.e. the engine was mounted at the front and drive was via the rear axle. Although there were a few front-wheel drive pioneers and the rear-engine design had also found a few supporters, nobody had the idea of combining a mid-engine with front-wheel drive. Nobody? Well, almost nobody. Because that's when the GMC L'Universelle appeared. In January 1955, at General Motors' annual Motorama show at the Walldorf Astoria in New York, a luxury van stood among seven more or less sporty concept cars - La Salle II Sedan, La Salle II Sports Coupe, Chevrolet Biscayne, Pontiac Strato Star, Oldsmobile 88 Delta, Buick Wildcat III, Cadillac Eldorado Brougham - a "somewhat oddly shaped luxury panel van". At least that's how Automobil Revue described the first appearance of the GMC L'Universelle "amid GM's production models, lots of refrigerators and other kitchen equipment, and the inevitable but very pretty female set".

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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