The Golden Sahara II or Concept Goodyear Golden Sahara II is a futuristic concept car designed by American custom car designer George Barris, based on the 1953 Lincoln Capri, presented at the Petersen Motorama show in Los Angeles in 1954 and upgraded to Version II in 1956.[1][2]
History
The American custom car designer George Barris designed the Golden Sahara II based on the damaged chassis of his personal 1953 Lincoln Capri,[3] with a 200 hp V8 engine.[1][4]
The design is inspired by the jet era and futuristic Batmobiles of the 1950s, with glazed cockpit of a 1953 Lincoln Capri, luxurious gold-plated interior and exterior trim, translucent-luminous Goodyear tires,[5] and advanced (and partly dummy) electronic equipment for the time: piloting controls inspired by aeronautics, automatic emergency braking based on obstacle sensors, electric door opening, voice control, radio, stereo system, tape recorder, television, telephone, and cocktail bar.[6][7][8][9][10]
It was purchased at an auction from its owner in 2018, and fully restored by Goodyear and the Klairmont Kollections car museum in Chicago, then successfully presented at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show.[13]