Over-the-top. Flamboyant. Radical. All of these describe this audacious concept car from the 1950s.
The Golden Sahara II was a standout concept car from the 1950s that truly turned heads with its mix of high-tech features and flashy design. Originally built from a 1953 Lincoln Capri, custom car legend George Barris transformed it into an automated, self-driving vehicle that seemed ripped from the pages of a sci-fi novel.
The car was decked out with 24-karat gold plating and a shimmering, pearlescent paint job that used actual fish scales to catch the light.
On the tech side, it was way ahead of its time, boasting automated brakes, a cockpit-like control setup, and the ability to drive itself using sensors and magnetic tape laid out on the road. Basically, it showed early autonomous features nearly 70 years before their time.
What really set the Golden Sahara II apart was how it blended cutting-edge technology with over-the-top luxury. Instead of a regular steering wheel, it had a central joystick to control the car, sort of like a video game.
It even had an early version of voice control through microphones and speakers inside the car, plus it could be driven remotely.
And then there were its glowing tires, made from a special rubber that lit up, making the car a true spectacle at night. This mix of advanced tech with a splashy style made the Golden Sahara II an iconic example of what people back then thought cars of the future would be like.
The concept car made a splash wherever it was shown, and made appearances in a number of TV shows in the 1960s. All of that took a toll, however, and the car’s condition began to deteriorate.
It wasn’t until 2018 that Klairmont Kollections purchased the concept car and set about restoring it to its former glory.
The result was unveiled in 2019, and the car once again began touring the world, showing off some of its gee-whiz features that still impressive, some 70 years after it was originally designed.
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