Mystery Friday Foto #43 Solved: The Unusual 1958 ‘Sir Vival’ Concept Car
Mario Rojas, from the online car show/blog, AmericanTorque.com, had challenged you to identify this very unusual 'Sir Vival' concept car.
Identify;
- Year
1958
- Name of the car
'The Sir Vival'
- The designer/builder of the car
Walter C. "Jerry" Jerome, president of the Hollow Boring Corp.
- The purpose of it's design
As Art pointed out in one of his newspaper documents, "...to protect its driver and passengers from annihilation.'
- Does it still exist?
Yes, the car sits unrestored at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, TN.
Comments (8)
Congrats to Al Prete, Art Kleiner, Ray K, Steve Lucas and Bob Doyle for identifying the 'Sir Vival'. Super Kudos to Art for all the wonderful documentation below.
Greg O.
Comments
Year: 1958
Name: Sir Vival
Designer/Builder: Walter C. Jerome, of Worcester, Massachusetts
Purpose of its design: Safety
Does it still exist? Yes, although it hasn’t run since the ‘64 World’s Fair. It is currently owned by the Lane Motor Museum of Nashville, which plans to restore it.
Lots of documentation for this mystery photo.
Year: 1958
Name: Sir Vival (aka “survival”)
Walter C. Jerome
Purpose: As one of my attached exhibits note: “to protect its driver and passengers from annihilation. Wow
Exist Today: Yes, in the Lane Motor Museum of Nashville.
Continued documentation. Jerome felt the government’s safety standards for automobiles did not go far enough (he believed only steam engines should be built) and included what he thought was necessary in his prototype. After he stopped work on the Sir Vival (the prototype was the only one produced) Jerome began working on another experimental prototype in Plymouth, MA. Hmm, that’s going to lead me on another rabbit hole! The last attachment is the front page of the April, 1959 edition Mechanix Illustration which featured the Sir Vival. The next set of attachments is the full article.
An interesting prototype to say the least!
This last attachment is from a February 27th, 2015 edition of the Telegram and Gazetter. Lots of material on the internet about the car. And here is a video showing the car in action! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X16LxLUjmO8
This is a photo of a one-off safety designed concept vehicle created by Walter Jerome of Worcester, Ma. which he introduced in 1958. He began with a 1948 Hudson, highly modifying it into a two-piece articulated body and raising the roof to include an elevated glass enclosed drivers compartment. It was Mr. Jerome’s wish to create the world’s safest car. He designed the engine compartment as a separate articulated unit in an effort to reduce injuries and the threat of fire to the passenger compartment. A number of safety features currently in use today were incorporated into the design of this car, including air filled impact bumpers and adaptive/swiveling headlights. I find the “cyclops” type roof lamp similar to the center light used on the Tucker and the elevated driver’s compartment reminiscent of the Motorama transport vehicles. The car currently resides in the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tenn.
:
That’s the very unusual “SIR VIVAL” designed by Walter C. Jerome in 1958. Based on a 1948 Hudson Commodore, he believed that his articulated concept would improve safety by separating the engine compartment from the occupants in the event of a frontal collision. If you want to see it in person, take a road trip to the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, TN.
My last attempt failed. I hope this is the place to respond to Foto #43. The car is the Sir-Vival and it was built in 1958. The designer was Walter Jerome of Newton Ave. North in Worcester, MA. He had a company titled, Hollow Bearing. He displayed the car at the 1964 Worlds Fair in NY. The rear of the car is from a Hudson. The driver is separated from the passengers to avoid distractions. After Walter died, the car was stored in Bellingham, MA. When the Bellingham operation closed, the car was relocated to the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, TN.
Congratulations to all who were able to identify this Strange Concept Car!
When I first came across this concept car I had to do a Blog on it on the American Torque Website. Here is a link to my blog: http://www.americantorque.com/page/0/4183/
Thank you Howard and Greg for making this your Mystery Foto #43.
I’ll have to try harder for another Mystery Car Foto.
Best Regards,
Mario Rojas
Magazines like Mechanix Illustrated, among others, always printed wild visions of the future. How prophetic that in 1958 the cover proclaims, “How Poisoned Air Is Shortening Your Life.” and “Heat Your Home With Solar Energy.” Fast forward to the current era and these are everyday topics in one form or another (solar power for electricity vs. heating), climate crisis, etc. The car may have been dream but some things do come to fruition.