This is a highly detailed limited edition resin cast model which is mounted on a base in an acrylic display case
While most concept cars hit the auto show circuit in search of glory, some are never shown to the public and remain with the carmaker as experimental vehicles or rolling laboratories. The 1955 Mercury D-528 is one of those cars. It's also one of the most innovative concepts you probably never heard of.
Developed in the 1950s, in an era when concepts were called dream cars, the D-528 was built to test various ideas that were new (and even wild) at the time.
A low-slung, pillarless four-door with intriguing rear fenders, the Mercury D-528 is one of the lesser-known experimental vehicles from the era. Mostly because it was never shown to the public on the auto show circuit.
A rather unusual approach at first glance, but Ford had plenty of reasons not to showcase the D-528. For starters, the car was never finished to meet auto show exhibit standards.
It was far from perfect due to gap issues around the hood and unaligned window trim, but it was also continuously modified by Ford engineers.
But that's not to say that the Mercury spent its entire life at the company's headquarters. The D-528 actually made some sort of public debut in 1964, 10 years after its initial completion. That's when it appeared in "The Patsy," a comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis.