Time Machine: 1965 Mercer Cobra Concept - AllCarIndex
The use of copper and brass adds notes of distinction and elegance to an exciting new sports car concept
In the past quarter-century, as the automobile has become more of a refined invention, many elements that were once intrinsic to its design have vanished. Smooth envelope bodies erased the need for billowing, flowing front fenders. Faired, recessed and sometimes covered headlights replaced the once shiny and shapely headlamps. Wrap-around windshields and rear windows drenched the passenger in sunlight, and little by little they whittled doorposts down to the narrowest structural bone.
Then the tide of taste abruptly shifted. Automakers became aware of their customers' general disdain for the "fishbowl" look, so wrap-around window glass began to recede. And the growing number of car owners who removed fender skirts convinced manufacturers that the most attractive fender was one that flattered rather than concealed the wheel.
Wire wheels, which passed from the scene with the end of the classic period, have again appeared as symbols of sport and luxury. Cars with long-discarded two-piece windshields have been on designers' drawing boards for some time, and periodically someone in the auto industry waxes nostalgic about the rumble seat. Almost the only design element that is likely to remain a permanently dead issue is the running board.
Today there is a movement astir to bring back the elegance of copper and brass, which brightened the automobile's appearance half a century ago. In the days of the vintage car, such components as headlamps, brake and gearshift levers, exposed knobs and caps, and helical bulb horns were either brass-trimmed or made entirely of brass. But when the streamlining process began making inroads, brass and other copper alloys were gradually discarded. Today, however, as auto stylists search for material and means to add distinctive flair and colorful highlights to their products, copper, brass and bronze figure to be important once more- and the cycle revolving from past to present is all but complete.
To stimulate what promises to be an important new trend, the copper and brass industry has commissioned the construction of a special exhibition car into which copper and brass elements are usefully and attractively integrated. The design of the car relates to that of the famous Type 35 Mercer of 1911 vintage. It is built on a special chassis consisting of a modified lengthened steel A.C. frame and a Ford Cobra power train. The resulting marriage of vintage and contemporary concepts- embellished with futuristic innovations- is called the Mercer-Cobra. The car has a 108-inch wheelbase and is 182 inches overall. Tire size is 6.50 by 16 inches with a front tread width of 52 inches. The powerplant is a standard 289 cubic-inch Ford V-8 engine with a special two-carburetor Shelby kit. The body was built and assembled in Italy by the renowned Carrozzeria Sibona-Basano of Turin, the city where many fine cars are built.
The Mercer-Cobra was designed by Virgil M. Exner, one of Detroit's leading independent design consultants. "It was built as a one-of-akind vehicle," Exner told AUTOMOBILE Quarterly, "but with some minor changes it would lend itself quite readily to semi-custom building for a very limited number of individual owners." He pointed out that because the car had definitely not been conceived as a race or competition car, he had not been overly concerned with the fine points of aerodynamic streamlining. "Our overall aim," Exner continued, "was to create an interesting and stimulating design rather than one which simply follows the 'formula' of a flat, low snout with a horizontal air scoop and a squared-off bobtailed rear."
Exner picked the Mercer as his model because its elegant appearan'ce was the result of a generous application of brass and copper trim. Although the Mercer-Cobra is an original conception, not an imitation or a reconstruction, its heritage is clearly visible in its extended brass radiator shell and in the horizontal "flair" of its rear fend ers. The car represents an expertly smooth blending of old and new, and at the same time serves as an application laboratory for the automotive and copper industries to illustrate the creative uses of copper, brass and bronze.
With the virtual banishment of fenders and hood ornaments, and the relative sameness of grille and bumper designs, almost the only way today's stylist can lend distinction to his product is by adding chrome trim. He is further inhibited by recurring trends that may produce an over-decorous amount of exterior chrome one year and a bare minimum the next. The use of copper alloys will expand the stylist's palette immeasurably and permit him to reprise notes of individuality that have been lost in the simplification of auto design. Copper and copper alloys add colorful accents toward the beautification of a car's exterior and interior, and when combined with body paint and chromium embellishments, provide an almost limitless number of color combinations.
From the applications and the range of colors to be found on the new Mercer-Cobra, it is apparent that copper, brass and bronze vary not only in mechanical and physical properties but also in hue. Eleven distinct hues- the shades of color-are now available in standard, commercial alloys. The spectrum ranges from the warm reddish orange of copper through the golds and browns of brass and bronze to the silvers of the copper-nickel alloys. The tone and texture of each copper alloy may also be varied, even slightly, by different chemical and mechanical methods of finishing- among which are roll embossing, buffin g, etching, brush and belt sanding. Because the color of these alloys is not dependent on organic dies, there is no color variation or sun fade; from run to run the color of each alloy is uniform.
The exterior brass trim of the old Mercer was fashioned from cartridge brass that required frequent hand polishing. However, with advancements made in the field of protective coatings, maintenance is no longer a problem. The copper and brass parts on the Mercer-Cobra have been coated with lncralac, a new transparent acrylic material that was developed by the copper industry and found to offer better protection against tarnish and corrosion than any other coating. There is no need to polish the surface to maintain its natural gloss.
In addition, the adaptability of brass is such that should a stylist desire the cool effect of chromium on any part, he need only request that chrome plate be applied instead of the clear-coat lacquer finish. These "chrome or coat" alternatives provide a considerable amount of design flexibility with no need to consider changing the base metal, an important economy factor. A brass base takes chrome plating extremely well and produces better reflectivity and a depth of beauty unrivaled by any other base metal.
Prominent among the external copper alloy parts on the Mercer-Cobra, in addition to the radiator shell, are the brass-trimmed headlights, which are of a unique design. The lights, normally recessed behind brass-trimmed disks, are electrically controlled from the instrument panel to pivot out of the body. The brasstrimmed gas cap is of the pop-up variety and is activated by a brass locking device. The front and rear fender moldings, hood vent trim and cowl and cockpit trim are made of a silicon
bronze alloy, and all are attached to the body with conventional fasteners. The exhaust shield, which guards the chrome-plated pipe, is also of silicon bronze. The taillights are , recessed into scooped-out sections of the rear fenders and framed in brass concaves whose reflective qualities enhance the effectiveness of the lights.
Not all the trim on the car is of copper hues, Virgil Exner states. "Chrome plate has been used where function demands and as an accent on both interior and exterior." The most notable exterior use of the brass and chrome combination is on the wrap-around rear bumper, a solid brass accouterment that is faced with a chromeplated strip. The contrast between the warm richness of copper alloy and the coolness of chrome has been well realized here. Similar contrasts are evident inside the car, where a sprinkling of chrome plating complements the predominant copper tones. Unlike the exterior body trim, which stresses the rich gold of brass, the interior is highlighted by the reddish glow of copper.
The Mercer-Cobra instrument panel is trimmed with copper beading in the folds of its leather crash padding. The leather s~ats have a similar appearance and are framed by integral copper shells. The racing type steering wheel is made of high-strength chromium copper alloy, and on each side of the wheel there are continuous black plastic rims ridged with lustrous copper rivets. The horn button, like each of the dashboard control knobs, is black plastic with thick copper rimming. Overall, the color scheme -an intense black boldly offset by copper and chrome-is not only masculine but highly dramatic.
A problem of which auto manufacturers are constantly aware is the continual need to design tool life into body parts while changing the appearance of the cars each year. Wheel covers on the Mercer-Cobra were designed with this problem in mind. Attached to the basic brass stampings are swirls of roll-formed spokes. The color, configuration and number of spokes can be varied to alter the appearance of the wheels without changing the basic tooling. Instead of being lacquered to exploit the copper tones, they may be chrome-plated or given an interesting two-tone effect through a combination of clear- and chrome-coating. The wheel covers themselves are at.tached to wire wheels by chromium-plated spinner hubs that qiay be removed, whenever necessary, by the use of a special wrench.
The disk brakes on the Mercer-Cobra are also made of copper, which has proved to have nearly ten times the thermal conductivity of cast iron. The copper disk naturally draws heat away from the braking surface, thereby insuring that the brake will rnn cool. The cooler the braking surface, the more fade-resistant characteristics are provided and the longer the pad life wil! be.
Because the copper and brass industry was particularly concerned about the Mercer-Cobra's under-the-hood appearance, Virgil Exner skillfully included the engine as a facet of the car's total design. Valve covers, air cleaner, oil filler cap and dip stick tube are made of the same cartridge brass that was used in the radiator shell, head lamps, hub caps and trim of the Type 35 Mercer. From top to bottom, inside and out, the Mercer-Cobra has received its designer's scrupulous attention. The result is that as an example of forward-looking automotive design and as a demonstration of imaginative and innovative uses of copper and brass -for styling and for efficiency-the car makes an excellent showing.
Based on the original press release.