Not to be confused with the Chevrolet Vega

Chevrolet Vega

The Chevrolet Vega is a subcompact, two-door automobile that was produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1971-1977 model years. Named after the star Vega, the car was powered by a lightweight aluminum-block inline four-cylinder engine...

, a 1970s subcompact.

The Ford Vega was a concept car produced in 1953 at the behest of the Ford Motor Company. Only one example was created.

Design

Vince Gardner, a Cord

Cord Automobile

Cord was the brand name of a United States automobile, manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company from 1929 through 1932 and again in 1936 and 1937....

 designer responsible for the Cord 810, was commissioned by Henry Ford II

Henry Ford II

Henry Ford II , commonly known as "HF2" and "Hank the Deuce", was the son of Edsel Ford and grandson of Henry Ford...

 to produce a lightweight, two-seat roadster. Gardner's design was two years in production and used an Anglia

Ford Anglia

The 1949 model, code E494A, was a makeover of the previous model with a rather more 1940s style front-end, including the sloped, twin-lobed radiator grille. Again it was a very spartan vehicle and in 1948 was Britain's lowest priced four wheel car....

 chassis with one-off lightweight aluminum

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

 bodywork. Some styling touches, such as the pop-up headlamps

Hidden headlamps

Hidden headlamps, also commonly known as pop-up headlamps or headlights, are an automotive styling feature that conceals an automobile's headlamps when they are not in use...

, were Cord-inspired details. Power came from an elderly 136 in³ V8

V8 engine

A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....

, which produced 60 bhp, yielding performance that compared unfavorably with the Chevrolet Corvette C1

Chevrolet Corvette C1

The Chevrolet Corvette is the first generation of the sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced late in the 1953 model year and produced through 1962. It is commonly referred to as the "solid-axle" generation, as the independent rear suspension didn't appear until the 1963...

 of the same vintage. Celebrities such as Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx

Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...

 and Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...

 visited the Ford facilities building the Vega by invitation from Henry Ford II. Henry Ford II proudly displayed the car at the firm's 50th anniversary.

Influence

The Vega was an expensive one-off project and it did not yield a car that could be produced for a competitive price. As an exercise, however, it was a success. The production of a stylish roadster kindled interest within Ford concerning making its own modern sporty roadster, which led directly to the creation of the highly successful Ford Thunderbird

Ford Thunderbird

The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...

 in 1955. The Thunderbird convertible held the same niche as the Vega would have. After the introduction of the Ford Mustang

Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...

 in 1964, the Thunderbird shifted emphasis away from these performance aspirations and towards increased luxury, so as not to cannibalize sales within the Ford enterprise.

Eventual fate

The single car was displayed for several years in the Ford Rotunda Exhibition Center in Dearborn, Michigan

Dearborn, Michigan

-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...

, remaining in the property of Ford. In the 2006 Barrett-Jackson

Barrett-Jackson

Established in 1971 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction provides products and services to classic and collector car owners, collectors and automotive enthusiasts...

Scottsdale Auction it was sold for $385,000 to private collector Sam Pack, in whose possession it remains.