Dreams really can come true, when money is no object. The Gaylord grand touring sports car was the brainchild of James and Edward Gaylord, heirs to a fortune built on their father’s invention of the bobby pin. The Gaylord brothers were auto enthusiasts in the grandest sense. They mourned the passing of the great marques; Bugatti and Delahaye, Duesenberg and Stutz. By the 1950s, modern GTs from Europe were nimble and fast and poised to attack any corner. The American cruisers of the day were beautifully brash, with boundless power, isolated from the road’s harshness. Each had its appeals, each its drawbacks. But the Gaylords wanted it all, a car with the performance to compete on the tracks at LeMans or Monaco, and still carry its occupants in comfort over the finest streets of Paris or New York. And so they set out on a quest to build the most advanced, spectacular, and exclusive luxury sports car in the world, the Gaylord Gladiator

The Gaylord bobby pin was an ingeniously simple use of a little bit of metal. The Gladiator’s chassis was much the same thing… except bigger, and not nearly as simple. It was designed for function without mass, a heady concept in those days.  Jim Gaylord conceived a tubular center structure made of the alloy chrome-molybdenium which was both lightweight and robust. He used channel steel perimeters and platform and neoprene impregnated body mounts to reduce vibration and absorb road noise. The rear suspension was a conventional live axle design with leaf springs. But these were positioned on the frame for ideal geometry and balance to achieve optimal handling. The front suspension was a typical wishbone set up. But it had tremendous wheel travel and minimal flex. In these days before variable ratio power steering, the Gladiator had a hydraulic servo unit where the driver could adjust boost via a cockpit control dial. This advanced chassis technology allowed a combination of supple ride and tenacious grip that no 1950s car from any country at any price could boast. 

Fitting its lofty status, no expense was spared on the Gladiator’s interior. The cockpit was graced with the finest leather and wood available. There were specially designed VDO gauges that used indicator needles shaped like the spear in the Gaylord emblem. Out back was a spare tire that could be easily slid out of a sub-compartment in the trunk and tipped to the pavement with minimal fuss… and without messing one’s eveningwear. Topping it all off was the world’s first electric powered retractable hardtop. Jim Gaylord designed it to be raised or lowered with the touch of a button. It was chain-driven and used just one electric motor. Two years later Ford’s Skyliner would require seven to do the same job.

Considering all that went into a Gladiator, and given the technology of the day, tipping the scales at just under 4000lbs was quite an achievement. Absence of mass helped performance as well as handling. Power came from a Cadillac-sourced 305hp V8 with dual 4bb carbs, and was sent to the rear wheels via a 4-speed Hydra-Matic. The drivetrain was the same one used in the Cadillac El Dorado, but the much lighter Gladiator went from 0-60mph nearly 2 seconds quicker.

Famed industrial design firm, Brooks Stevens & Accociates was hired to pen a body that evoked a modern interpretation of those 1930s classics the Gaylord brothers so revered. This was, as Don McDonald wrote in the December 1955 issue of Motor Trend, “Brooks Stevens’ dream commission, the kind of car everyone talked about but never actually made.” The Gladiator’s body was beautifully proportioned, like a big cat coiled to leap. Part of the effect came from a clamshell fender treatment and open wheel design that were meant to convey the litheness of the classic era. Nearly as striking are the formal coach roof and chrome trimmed boot. The long tail fins are less elegant, but they were almost a necessity given the tastes of the time.

Despite the nearly perfect proportions and open wheel design, the finest materials, and chassis technology that was decades ahead of its time, the Gladiator’s most striking feature is its face. The two enormous Lucas P-100 headlamps that so dominate the car were not Brooks Steven’s idea. Jim Gaylord loved the neo-classic look and insisted on them. The lights are flanked by a tall, bold mesh grill situated behind impossibly delicate bumpers. It brings to mind a proud steel owl clutching a freshly caught snake. Love it or hate it, once you’ve seen the Gladiator, you won’t ever forget it.

The prototype Gaylord Gladiator that debuted at the Paris international auto show in 1955 was built by Spohn of Germany. The couch builder was chosen to shape the body because unlike the traditional Italian or French carrossiers, who tended to interpret the designs sent them with a liberal eye, the Germans follow designers’ instructions to the letter. In this case that included those bold headlights, which apparently were not a big hit among viewers at the Paris show. 

Nor was the quality of the body work provided by Spohn. Considerable amounts of lead was used to shape the voluptuous bodies, and began to deteriorate in very short order. For full scale production, Lutfschiffbau Zeppelin of Friedrichshafen, West Germany was chosen for the contract. The first two prototypes built by Spohn got the Lucas lamps. For ‘production’ cars, illumination was provided by more conventional quad-beams, along with more practical closed front wheel wells. The result is a less dramatic look. Whether that is better or worse is up to the viewer.

As we have said, money was no object in the development of the Gaylord. Indeed, the car was priced only after it was engineered and styled. What was originally intended to cost about $10,000, ballooned to $17,500 (nearly $200,000 today) But it wasn’t only the price that did this incredible machine in. After all, the Gaylord brothers only expected to produce 25 cars per year. When the first production Gladiator was built, the perfectionist Jim Gaylord was unhappy with L-Z’s work as well. Production halted. A messy international lawsuit ensued, driving Jim to a nervous breakdown. After that, his brother Edward convinced him it was time raise the white flag. 

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 are 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. It was traced to a castle somewhere in France, but that’s where the trail went cold. Rumors told of it having been re-bodied as a hot rod. There is no trace at all of the last chassis. With mystery there is hope.  

The dream of Jim and Edward Gaylord to build the preeminent motorcar of its time was a brief and costly one, but it did come true. The Gaylord Gladiator must be included on the short list of the most extraordinary cars ever made. 

Copyright@2020 by Mal Pearson

Sources

MotorTrend  Dec 1955  Don MacDonald 

Special Interest Auto  Feb 1981  Richard Langworth

www.chrisinmotion.com   2009  Christopher Opfell

Automotive History Review    Autumn 2019     by Don Keefe