Exner Revival Cars were created by noted automobile designer, Virgil Exner

Virgil Exner

Virgil Max "Ex" Exner, Sr. was an automobile designer for numerous American companies, notably Chrysler and Studebaker. He is known for his "Forward Look" design on the 1955-1963 Chrysler products and his fondness of fins on cars for both aesthetic and aerodynamic reasons.-Early life:Born in Ann...

, produced a series of "Revival Car" concepts for a December, 1963 issue of Esquire

Esquire (magazine)

Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...

magazine. His designs included an updated model for four famous American marques: Stutz, Duesenberg

Duesenberg

Duesenberg was an Auburn, Indiana based American luxury automobile company active in various forms from 1913 to 1937, most famous for its high-quality passenger cars and record-breaking racing cars.-History:...

, Packard

Packard

Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...

, and Mercer

Mercer (car)

Mercer was an American automobile manufacturer from 1909 until 1925. It was notable for its high-performance cars, especially the Type 35 Raceabout.-Early history:...

. He later designed updated Bugatti

Bugatti

Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....

, Pierce-Arrow

Pierce-Arrow

Pierce-Arrow was an American automobile manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901-1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks, fire trucks, camp trailers, motorcycles, and bicycles.-Early history:The forerunner...

, and Jordan

Jordan Motor Car Company

The Jordan Motor Car Company was founded in 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio by Edward S. "Ned" Jordan, a former advertising executive from Thomas B. Jeffery Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin. The factory produced what were known as "assembled cars" until 1931, using components from other manufacturers...

 cars. Little came of these designs, though they became well-known as plastic model kits

Scale model

A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...

 produced by Renwal.

A show version of the Bugatti was built by Ghia on the last Bugatti Type 101

Bugatti Type 101

In order to restart Bugatti, a new car was needed for the 1950s. The result was the 1951 Type 101. An evolution of the Type 57, it is considered by many to be the last true Bugatti car, until 1956; with just seven produced. Powered by the 3.3 L straight-8 from the Type 57...

 chassis. The Bugatti Revival Car concept was shown at the Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 Motor Show in 1965 but at the time it failed to spark another revival of that marque.

Exner's Mercer design was also produced as a concept car

Concept car

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

. A body was crafted for a shortened (by 18 in (457 mm)) Shelby Cobra chassis, and the Mercer-Cobra was presented in 1965.

Exner's Duesenberg revival had the most success. Exner penned a new design for 1966, and a company was formed under Fritz Duesenberg, son of August Duesenberg

August Duesenberg

August Samuel Duesenberg was a German-American automobile pioneer manufacturer.-Biography:Duesenberg was born in Kirchheide, Lippe-Detmold. His large family emigrated to the United States when he was five, settling in Rockford, Iowa.In the 1890s, August Duesenberg started building and racing...

 to produce the cars on Chrysler Imperial

Imperial (automobile)

Imperial was the Chrysler Corporation's luxury automobile brand between 1955 and 1975, with a brief reappearance in 1981 to 1983.The Imperial name had been used since 1926, but was never a separate make, just the top-of-the-line Chrysler. In 1955, the company decided to spin it off as its own make...

 chassis. A prototype was again produced by Ghia, and 50 buyers signed up, including Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 and Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...

. The company fell on financial trouble before production could begin, however, with the prototype seized as payment of outstanding debts.