The 1954 Chicago Auto Show was the venue for the unveiling of the Ford FX-Atmos – a concept car built by the Ford Motor Company.
The letters FX stood for “Future Experimental” and the styling was pure Atomic Age: spaceship-like tail fins, a plexiglass bubble canopy, glowing red tail lamps that simulated rocket exhausts, and – in place of headlamps – a pair of stylised radar antennae positioned in the front fenders.
The car was styled after a jet aircraft, and the cabin/cockpit set the driver on the centerline with two rear seats. The driver’s controls and instruments were also futuristic, with dual handgrips instead of a steering wheel and a dashboard screen intended to display radar-sourced highway information.
Constructed entirely of fibreglass, the Atmos rode on a compact 105-inch wheelbase, but the total length was a ponderous 221 inches (over 18 feet) due to the generous front and rear overhangs. The actual construction was performed by Creative Industries, a key Detroit contractor that specialised in building prototypes and pioneered the use of fibreglass.
The stunning pearlescent white paint was accented with bright metal and ribbons of metallic red, blue, and silver.
With no powertrain (or provisions for one), the FX Atmos was strictly a pushmobile. “It is not proposed as a future production vehicle,” said Lewis Crusoe, Vice President of the Ford division. “For that reason, no engineering considerations have been involved in its development.”
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