1955 Ford La Tosca - AllCarIndex

A car called La Tosca, which maneuvers in all directions by remote control, has been created by Ford Motor Company stylists.

La Tosca is 3/8ths the size of a regular automobile and its removable Fiberglas body shell--mounted on a special radio-controlled chassis--is a "world-of-tomorrow" concept of super-streamlining.

George W. Walker, vice president and director of styling, said La Tosca was developed by the advanced styling studio under Alex Tremulis ”to implement Ford Motor Company's styling leadership in the industry."

La Tosca's chassis is designed for quick-changing of body shells, and eventually dozens of body styling concepts will be shaped for the chassis.

La Tosca introduces a new dimension—movement--into automobile styling research, and it was built as a device for Ford management study and evaluation of styling innovations.

Ford executives can direct the movements of the small car by merely pressing a few buttons on a control device no larger than a desk telephone. They can make it run up to five miles per hour and can guide it as far away as l.5 miles.

The new pushbutton technique will simplify the making of company styling decisions. La Tosca-type mobile units also will be useful for public demonstrations.

Full-scale motion studies of new styling features can be provided by taking movies of the small cars in action and then projecting enlargements on a screen.

La Tosca's main styling feature is its unusual canted fins which run along each side of the car, giving its body the appearance of being wider than it is. The car's rear treatment was inspired by modern aircraft design, with roof canopy of plexiglas and back-up lights modeled after jet tubes. Headlights are retractable under two tiny doors set into the nose of the car.