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In the automotive world, there are few things as bittersweet as a concept car that could have been. In 1954, Plymouth delivered one of those gems: the sleek, low-slung Belmont. If cars were movie stars, the Belmont would have been the one that came tantalizingly close to superstardom, only to be benched by its studio before it could steal the show.
Long, Low, and Plastic—The Future Was Now
Let’s start with the looks, because—good heavens—this thing was a stunner. At nearly 192 inches long, but just 32 inches tall at the top of the doors, the Plymouth Belmont was all about the art of illusion. It was a convertible that sat so low, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were stepping into a fighter jet rather than a sports car. And then there was the body: plastic. No, not the kind that cracks and fades on a budget sedan, but reinforced fiberglass—the cutting-edge stuff that the Corvette was also just starting to flirt with. It was a bold move for Plymouth, a brand more accustomed to building dependable, middle-America-friendly machines.
The Belmont came painted in a rather fetching light metallic green, a hue that caught the light and played up the car’s curves in a way that made it look fast even when it was parked. Inside, it was a plush affair with white leather seating for two. Add in a full set of racing instruments and a radio control mounted in the center armrest (luxury!), and you had a cockpit that screamed style.
The Heart of a Dodge, the Soul of a Plymouth
Of course, a concept car is only as good as what’s under the hood, and in this case, Plymouth didn’t hold back. Borrowing from Dodge, they slotted in a Red Ram V8 engine, cranking out 150 horsepower from 241 cubic inches. Now, 150 horsepower might not sound like much in today’s numbers, but back in 1954, this was enough to make you sit up and take notice. Paired with Plymouth’s 3-speed Hy-Drive semi-automatic transmission, it was a smooth operator—meant for cruising boulevards, not just sitting pretty on a showroom floor.
The chassis? A 114-inch wheelbase borrowed from Dodge and Plymouth, meaning this wasn’t just a toy car but a properly engineered machine with serious potential. In essence, Plymouth’s Belmont was taking aim squarely at the newly minted Corvette and the Thunderbird, two cars it could have locked horns with if it had ever made it to showrooms.
Too Cool for Its Own Good
So why, you might ask, didn’t the Belmont go head-to-head with the ‘Vette or T-Bird? Well, in typical Chrysler fashion, the suits upstairs decided that the Belmont was already “too old” before it even got a chance to make a splash. You can almost hear the collective facepalm from Plymouth engineers and designers. Chrysler, perhaps spooked by the underwhelming sales of the 1953 and 1954 Corvette, decided not to take the gamble. The Belmont was retired just as soon as it had wowed the crowds at the 1954 Chicago Auto Show.
What a shame, because the Belmont had all the makings of a classic. It had the right styling cues—an aerodynamic silhouette with turbine-like flourishes that hinted at Chrysler’s gas turbine experiments at the time. It also had a soft-top roof hidden under a hard cover behind the seats, adding to its sleek, uninterrupted shape. And, while much of it was bespoke, several parts were poached from Chrysler’s production lines—tail lights from last year’s Chrysler models, standard-issue wheels, and even a Plexiglass windshield. Virgil Exner, Chrysler’s famed design head, had crafted something special.
The Afterlife of a Forgotten Star
Exner himself must have realized what a jewel the Belmont was, because after its brief moment in the spotlight, he got permission to keep the car. It lingered in his collection until 1968, at which point it was sold and shuffled through a few more hands before disappearing into the shadows of automotive history. Fortunately, it was later rescued and now sits in Don Williams’ collection in New Jersey—a testament to what might have been.
Chrysler's Rearview Mirror Regrets
It’s hard not to look back on the Belmont and think of what could have been. In the year after it was shelved, Ford launched the 1955 Thunderbird, which promptly sold like hotcakes. You can almost imagine Plymouth’s executives, sitting in their offices, staring at T-Bird sales charts and wondering if they might have made a colossal mistake by not giving the Belmont its chance. With its plastic body, sporty styling, and a solid V8 under the hood, the Belmont was a missed opportunity, a nearly great idea that was mothballed too soon.
Today, the Plymouth Belmont stands as a relic of what Chrysler could have done differently, a “what if” story for the brand that could have been so much more than a flash in the pan. Would it have beaten the Corvette or the T-Bird? We’ll never know, but one thing is certain—Plymouth might have kicked itself in the rear over that decision more than a few times.
