Gaylord Gladiator - More than a Name
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ส.ค. 2024
- Greetings! :D
While many take this car at face value, either because of its name or its strangely styled prototype models, the Gaylord Gladiator was in fact a far more advanced car that one might expect, integrating a perfect mixture of power, performance, simple, lightweight construction, sheer comfort and advanced technology to create what could have been a barnstormer for 1950s grand tourers, though sadly, due to issues with construction, the contentious styling of its prototypes, and the demands for perfection from its namesake progenitors, the Gladiator would never go beyond a handful of examples, and today is remembered less for its many superb facets, and more for its name.
Special thanks to Lou Costabile for allowing me the use of footage from his fantastic video examining the sole-built production Gaylord Gladiator. Be sure to check out his incredibly insightful video at the following link that really goes into detail as to this lone survivor:
• Batmobile in a Tuxedo ...
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated TH-camrs. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): rorymacveigh@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
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References:
- Jalopnik (and their respective references)
- Car Throttle (and their respective references)
- The Makes that Didn't Make it (and their respective references)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)
“Gaylord Gladiator” sounds like an Xbox Live gamer tag from 2007.
Dude, I was about to say, "Gaylord Gladiator sounds like something my older brother would've called me."
True, and perhaps a troller's name tag
Gaylord Gladiator definitely kicked my ass a few times in MW2 camping in the airport map
There's a town in michigan in america called Gaylord..they have an annual beer festival
@ytcensorhack1876 Imagine football team : Gaylord Gladiators.
LOL. "So what do you drive these days?" "A Gaylord." Made my day. But then I do have the mentality of an 8 year old.
Nothing wrong with 8 year olds likes.
Now that I'm grown-up, I don't dig these jokes anymore. I now do adult things, like asking women for a date.
"How about going to the club? I can pick you up with my Gaylord at 8."
@@klausstock8020 so what does she say? I don’t care if he is gay - if he’s a lord and he’s packing “eight” he can pick me up with you🎉😂❤
My late father was friends with Ed Gaylord. He always talked about this car. I think it was brother Jim’s unrealistically high quality standards that doomed the car, plus the crazy amounts of money spent. Ed also was a big Ferrari client so my father was always describing these cars too me. Led me to my current 40 year career at a Ferrari dealership.
... describing these cars to* me.
I think it had a lot more to do with gay the name!
Old man Ferrari knew, that quality
isn't everything, as long as you can get
people to really, really want your car 😄
It's been described elsewhere as a Batmobile in a Tuxedo which is not far off the mark, however, you can't overlook the fact that it had some pretty advanced engineering. The brothers should have gone to one of the Italian styling houses such as Pininfarina for a design and put more effort into keeping production costs down. Fascinating bit of automotive history though.
Even the smaller Italian companies like Giha would have been a better choice
If they had been available in a flat black finish, I'm sure batman would have bought a few of them, for "customizing"...
And perhaps one of them to redesign it, instead of Brooke Stevens haha! Though he did do some great work.
Molly-bendium 😂😂😂 Quite the reverse of what molybdenum does for steel!
Isn't she a wrestler?
That surprised me too!. Made me smile!
@@francisboyle1739Pretty sure I saw her in a WWE match against Polly Propelene! 😎
@@vinnydaq13 I remember that! It was a tag team match with Ethel Alcohol and Ruby Binium.
@@francisboyle1739 This all sounds like weapons-grade Balonium.
I work in a place that manufactures amazing high precision custom items from steel, we use CNC laser, film, acid baths, banding machines, lathes, etc. it fascinates me to see the precision and finish on some of these items such as the Gaylord badges and instruments on the dash. I have no idea how these things could have been manufactured without CNC laser cutting. It’s kind of mind blowing to be honest.
It's called skill and craftsmanship...and yes am a machinist..prototype...manual..automatics..cnc 45 yrs
My educated guess is that it is very likely those badges weren't machined but cast. Zinc, Bronze, Brass, and finished with chrome coatings. Those processes are fairly ancient (look up "lost wax casting"). It's much more economic to cast a shape like that. Machining that sorta stuff didn't make sense in that time.
Source: I worked at a bronze and synthetic resin foundry. I've worked with very similar items. Those (museum grade) items were copies of ancient art, statuettes/sculptures of housegods, jupiter, minerva, mercury, and contemporary sculptures (in materials such as bronze and resin).
@@miguelcastaneda7257 Makes one kind of sad,
that crafting beautiful things with tools in your hands
is a dying skill, but I guess with new technologies
we don't have to chose between having nice things
AND people not having to work for pittens to make it possible.
@Xigano1 it's called pride in work could say things I built made...but that would be vain..but I can drive by or use something sometimes stare at something and know I made that wasn't paid much ..but I did that
I can hear Peter Graves' voice: "Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?"
😅😅😅
The prototype would have been perfect for Priest's car in Superfly. I don't think I've ever seen a car so pimpin'. Must look awesome at night with those massive lights on.
Even the beautiful model draped over the car can't keep from laughing! 😄
True, but she's enough to sway any Gaylord, I'd say 😉
"…..thought she was pretty hot!
Not quite sure about the look of the prototype version but the only production example looked awesome now as it did back in The 50's. It's sad that not many more units were ever produced as they would have possibly garnered at lot of attention at Classic Car Shows.
I think it looks gaudy even for the time.
2:53 "The car also featured the world's first electric powered retractable hardtop, as designed by James Gaylord..."
The 1936 Peugeot Eclipse entered the chat.
Designed in 1933 by a dentist named Georges Paulin, he patented the design and called it Eclipse. The first application was done by the coachbuilder Marcel Pourtout on a Panhard, it was first offered on a Peugeot as a dealer option by Emile Darl'mat before being integrated to the catalog in 1935.
Talk about flamboyant! It looks like a true Bond villain’s automobile!
Spectre No 1 or No 2 probably or Goldfinger.
Liberace would have had to play the villain...
A flamboyant Gaylord, who would've predicted?
The tubular structure might have been made out of alloy-chrome-molybdenum,
i doubt it was made of alloy-chrome-mollybendium which is probably too flexible for chassis work.
Never seen that car before but my Grandad used to drive one of them before and he once said to me that those cars were his favourite. My Grandad before he passed away in 2015 drove some older cars that were so reliable. And I actually went on one of his favourite car around Essex when I was very young as he lived in Basildon.
🤔 Wow, would love to view this amazing futuristic looking vehicle in person and up close !. Gorgeous 😅
Thanks for this. I'd heard of the Gaylord but had never seen one. A real shame it never went into production. Still gives my inner 10 year old a snigger though. Could you imagine asking a garage to look at your Gaylord's big end? You'd probably end up on some kind of register these days.
I don't think I ever heard of this car but I love it, especially the two giant headlights and with a big hemi engine it must have been a beast 💪
I'd first read about this car when I was about eight. It's interesting to see someone go into the story behind this car. There was a lot I didn't know about this car, for example, about those custom gauges.
They weren't wrong about the demand for an American grand tourer. Many companies attempted to fill that role for whatever reason (like racing homologation). Ford took some money and quite a bit of engineering out of the equation and sold a bunch of them. It was called Thunderbird.
Very classy looking Automobile. When cars had style.
Very interesting, I'd never heard of this car before watching. Thank you
I think the first prototype design is certainly more striking and iconic compared to the revised design. The giant headlamps really do give it an interesting look.
A Gaylord Tucker collaboration is a thought, after watching the vid of what look to me is the wickedest ride I never knew existed.
One: Gaylord, a name that I, being born with it, would change to absolutely anything else immediately. I'd rather have a name like Gridpick-Hardcock. Two: It's not really that ugly, in fact, I kind of like it.
There's actually a town in america called Gaylord. In fact they have a convention centre the Gaylord ops
Imagine being 'Mrs. Gaylord'... That woman deserves sympathy!
Hardcock... now that's a rare name...
"The surname Hardcock is the 8,193,072nd most frequently held surname worldwide. It is borne by around 1 in 1,457,509,183 people. This surname occurs mostly in The Americas, where 80 percent of Hardcock reside; 80 percent reside in North America and 80 percent reside in Anglo-North America.
The surname is most widely held in The United States, where it is borne by 4 people, or 1 in 90,614,733. In The United States it is primarily concentrated in: California, where 25 percent are found, Mississippi, where 25 percent are found and New York, where 25 percent are found. Aside from The United States it exists in one country. It is also found in Germany, where 20 percent are found."
Nice Rowan Atkinson reference 😂👌
It's a conversation starter!
How about Dick Reacher or Rod Clutcher?
You can always tell Brooks Stevens' designs; they're always piano black and ivory and have that characteristic scallop down the side. You can tell one from (literally) a mile away. I kinda dig it as a unique stylistic signature.
To make a small fortune in the car business one begins with a large fortune...
TH-cam won't let me give this video a like, but I did like it.
Never heard of it Hombre perciate the update never to old for knowledge..... love the Car
What a unique plate, I've never seen a "Manufacturer" plate before!
And that car! It looks so cool!!
Not gonna lie it looks stunning. I want one now.
Wow, that's striking looking. I think I prefer the production version showed at the very start, but the prototype was certainly more unique with its huge headlights and narrow front.
I must admit, hearing you say molybdenum as Molly-bend'em was kinda funny though.
I always thought the Damlier SP250 was the ugliest deliberately “styled” sports car from this era.....I now know I was wrong...😅 (.......mind you I was also distracted as the lady model used in the 1950s promo shots she was an absolute stunner 😍)
If I'm correct, the first hard top fully automated convertible was the Peugeot 402 and 601 eclipse in the 30's. Otherwise, I love your content
You are indeed correct.
Learn something every day. Thankx for posting!
A name unlikely to be resurrected.
That is so bonkers and weird I love it.
I've never heard of this car, but the production version looks like a mix of Chrysler's 1955 300 concept designed by Ghia, and the 'Green Hornet' Imperial Lebaron
Hello Rory, thank you very much for that interesting video.
Actually I'm living not too far away from one of the "crime scenes"😅.
Kind Regards from Germany
"The name is Lord, Gay Lord. I like my Martini with huge olives."
1:46 - "Molybendium" ROFL
i heard that the gaylord gladiators of ancient times were extremely proficient in sword fighting
in the opening, this blends the M-B 190SL with the 300SL ! we had a 190SL when I was in K + 1st grade in Mainz (we lived on an ex-French Zone Housing Area)
190SL was nice,
but just a ,,Ponton" sedan with different bodywork...
300SL was an early Supercar
I clicked on this thinking it was a music video. Gaylord Gladiator needs to be a band name 😂
The expression on the car’s face is “you called me what!?”
Thank you Rory dear
That thing is dope. Never heard of it but it would be amazing to get my hands on one
I've seen one in the Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshafen, Germany. It's difficult to put in words how striking the car looks in person. It's one of the weirdest looking cars I've ever seen, especially in person, but at the same time one of the most beautiful. From what you said at the end about the whereabouts of those few produced cars it might be a mockup. I can't say much about that since i had never heard about the car before i saw it in the museum and the plaque did not say anything about it not being real. All it said is that it was lent to the museum by the Zeppelin GmbH. If you're ever near Lake constanze (Bodensee in german) i highly suggest you visit both the Zeppelin museum and the Dornier musem (both are in Friedrichshafen, not very far from eachother).
Thank you another great video, appreciated ❤
Excellent video, but a slight nitpick. Peugeot had a car with a retractable hardtop prior to the Gladiator. It was a one-off prototype, but I have seen pictures of it. It was built for the 1936 Paris Auto Show, IIRC?
I'll edit if i can find the damn thing
Found it! The 1935 Peugeot 402 Eclipse, with a Paulin retractable hardtop.
Which, of note, was also a big two-seater with luxury aspirations... and was also extremely expensive.
I quite liked look of these, but every time he said 'Gaylord', I couldn't help but laugh.
Beautiful
3:54 Damn, my car barely beats this agile beauty of a dinosaur by a second and a bit albeit being 600kg lighter
Really awesome looking automobile.
Amazing video as always , mate!
What a great car! Many of the features of this car have been/are featured in today’s modern cars! The prototype body was a little “different “, but the production model was spot on; Ford copied the retractable metal top later on, and check out the leather interior and electric controls! The female model with the car is kind of hot, also!
I can Happily say if you gave me the keys and the title I would Smile Real BIG and say Thank You Very Much!!! 🤠👍
According to research by writer and historian Don Keefe, a total of five Gaylord chassis were produced, with 3 of them receiving bodies. The single L-Z built production car, along with another chassis, are the only Gladiators known to have survived. After decades of ownership by the Gaylord family, they both now reside in a private collection in Arizona. Of the Lucas-lighted prototypes, one of the cars was confirmed destroyed. The second car was stolen from the Gaylords in Europe during in the late 1950s.
I much prefer the front-end of the prototype with those open wheel wells. the original lights were a bit too big but the Rolls Royce twin arrangement distract from the uniqueness of the car making the front look too much like a Rolls
Hairpin empire. Those were the days!
I seem to recall a scale plastic model by Renwal featuring a very similar vehicle if not the Gaylord then possibly a retro version of a bygone marquee. Never knew that they were actually built. Narragansett Bay.
The prototype looks like it started life in a Disney film as the villains chosen transport.
Looking at the thumbnail for this video, I could only imagine the one-liners: "Goodness, those headlights! No, ma'am, not yours...the car's. Really."
Honestly, their going cheap on designers was a grave mistake: looking at all variations of this reminds me of the AnyCar made for Manufacturers Hanover Trust.
Brooks Stevens also designed the equally whimsical Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
Now that is a gopping car
Interesting. Never thought I would hear the phrase hairpin empire.
Well this video sent me on a research journey I never expected where I read all about the history of Sol H Goldberg, his wife, their children and the Hump Hair Pin company.
Sometimes I love where the Internet takes me.
1. 4:30 - The oversized headlamps definitely weren't from the model of Rolls Royce the 'bot included in this vid. It's a 1958 Silver Cloud, with totally normal headlamps. (A few other RRs did have the large lights.)
Well I like the look of the prototypes. Very anime looking.
That car design is like batmobile.
Also name...Gaylord cars compamy:):)
Did anyone notice that or its me only??
The prototype version stands out from the crowd and looks fantastic compared the production version.
4:50 -- Ah yes, back in the days, when it was still acceptable to say: "And now bend over and grab the Gaylord spear."
Very interesting. I have never heard of or seen this car before. Still chortling at the name though...
I saw Gaylord Gladiator on the main stage at Manchester Pride 2017
She sure had a
nice pair of headlights.
The Rover P6 would make for a good subject for a future video.
Imagine the Gaylord brothers creating a joint venture with the aircraft manufacturer Fokker !
"The gaylord brothers" I want this, would be so fun
a rare beauty
The production car looks much better than the prototypes. The open front wheel wells guarantee the sides of the car would quickly become filthy and the headlights look like they belong on a pimp-mobile. And often overlooked American grand touring car maker is Studebaker. Their first would be the 1955 President Speedster followed by the Hawk and GT Hawk featuring supercharged engines and available disc brakes.
Silver Cloud did not use Lucas P100 headlamps. It used PL700 (7")
It appears that the Gaylord brothers were fans of GM concept cars. The styling of their prototype closely resembles a cross between the 1954 Wildcat II and the Cadillac LaSalle.II roadster.
Such flamboyance of name and form, from a fortune built on something as prosaic as hairpins. Or perhaps not so prosaic: Hump Hair Pin Mfg Co.
(Source: Made in Chicago Museum website)
A ' Hair pin empire ', only in the 50s
The retractable hardtop was already a feature of the 1936 Peugeot 402 Eclipse... So nothing new there.
The Grille is Similar to A Facel Vega 9:30
from the hood up it's pretty fair but below the belt line it's a lead pig. Open front wheels = fun cleaning
I can just picture people going around saying things like "Im taking a ride inside a Gaylord gladiator!!!" 😂😂😂😂😂😂
No wonder why it was a niche model!!! Lol!!!!
I think it’s a sad story , a shame it failed , as it sounds like a great car !
There is a Gladiator in the ZF Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshafen. It's huge.
Are you sure? I only know of a large Maybach. I think it was the car of the director (CEO) of the Zeppelinwerke.
@@michaelburggraf2822 Yes, it's parked right beside the Maybach (or was in the summer of 2022). I posted a link to the museum's website where there is a picture of the car, but I guess TH-cam took it down. You can search "Gaylord Gladiator Zeppelin Museum" and it comes up.
Can’t help hearing the Batman theme when looking at it…
Fascinating - the engine would have been bullet proof. Agree with other comments, should have had an Italian design and build.
My mother the car with glasses...!!!
I want one !
1:44 Like the sound of “molybendium” (I think I was at college with her sister.)
The word you’re looking for is molybdenum - moll - ib - duh - numb.
May we introduce our newest model of the Gridpick-Hardcock.
3:00 Who wouldn't love a Gaylord convertible with '69' hubnuts?
I do like the grill rear end, looks almost high tech electronic, and the giant headlights look cool, I do not care for the open wheel well design part, rest of the car looks very nice though.
Please do overview of Muntz Jet
in all honesty, despite the name, i would love to actually own one. just for it being little, european, pocket american muscle :D
The nose does bear a strong resemblance to the Jeep of the same name.
The paint inside those open fenders wouldn’t last a week on our local gravel roads.