The 1967 Exemplar I Is a Copper-Heavy One-Off Built on a Buick Riviera Gran Sport Chassis

Nonetheless, some concept cars deserve to be remembered, and the 1967 Exemplar I is certainly one of them. This remarkable creation is simply too beautiful, too impressive, and too special to miss. Many of you have probably never even heard of it, so let's start by saying that this unique show car is a coachbuilt Italian-American hybrid with Italian coachwork based on a 1967 Buick Riviera Gran Sport chassis.

There is nothing else out there like it, as this is a one-off vehicle, and more impressively, it was not built by an auto manufacturer. It was commissioned and funded by the Bridgeport Brass Company in Connecticut and the Copper Development Association with the sole purpose of showcasing the potential applications for copper, brass, and bronze in the automotive industry for both aesthetic and functional uses.

For the creation of this show car, the two companies chose a 1967 Buick Riviera Gran Sport, which they sent to Turin in Italy. There, the car received a new body designed by Mario Revelli de Beaumont, who is considered one of the most recognizable and important coachbuilders of the 20th century, having created some incredible Lancias and Fiats. Responsible for building the prototype was another Italian designer - Sergio Coggiola of Carrozzeria Coggiola.

Since the goal was to highlight the possible uses of metals like brass and copper in automotive design, the vehicle boasts a colorful yet harmonious mix of orange, gold, copper, silver, and brown, with brass, copper, and bronze fixtures inside and out, and even under the hood. Plenty of copper, brass, and bronze accents can be observed on the exterior of the car from front to back. For instance, the rear window has brass shutters and the wheels are brass-plated Borrani wire wheels with special copper-plated ears. Additionally, a copper disc is covering the spare tire under the hood, the air cleaner cover is also copper, as is the coolant expansion tank and the firewall shrouding.

Beyond the decorative uses, copper also served to highlight greater safety features, as the car boasts copper disc brakes, copper brake lines, and twin copper radiators, one for the engine and another for the air conditioning.

All the copper parts are said to have benefitted from a clear industrial coating meant to protect them and ward off tarnishing and corrosion.

The stylish exterior is matched by an exquisite and equally beautiful interior, similarly adorned with copper and bronze elements. The tunnel console, the steering wheel column, the seat side shields, the door panels, and even the horn button are trimmed in copper.

Perhaps it is important to note that this was an era where chrome was a common plating material on vehicles, so Exemplar I was definitely different.

Apart from its stunning look and distinctive choice of materials, the car also delivers an impressive performance. Underneath the meticulously crafted bodywork, the Exemplar I is mechanically identical to a Buick Riviera GS. This means it takes power from a GM 7.0L V8 engine that produces 360 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque and is coupled to a three-speed automatic transmission.

After construction of Exemplar I was completed in 1967, the car was shipped back to the US, where it was first shown to the general public at the 1968 New York Auto Show. It made a huge impression on the crowds not only for its extensive use of copper and copper alloys but also for Revelli's creative design. The car was well ahead of its time from a styling standpoint as well, with its appearance reminiscing the Lamborghini Miura due to its delta shape, low profile, long sloping hood, and short rear deck. It also included innovative features, such as dual radiators, a front-mounted spare tire, and a panoramic glass roof.

Following its public debut, the Bridgeport Brass Company took it on a two-year tour of the United States to promote the use of copper in automotive design and inspire carmakers to employ the material in their production cars.

Exemplar I was designed purely as a show car, and since it wasn't built to comply with current federal safety and emissions standards, it could not be registered for road use. As a consequence, after it finished its promotional duties, the car was decommissioned and slated to be scrapped. Had it not been for Bridgeport Brass Company president Herman Steinkraus, who eventually decided to buy it, the car wouldn't exist today. Steinkraus kept it on his private estate in Darien, Connecticut, for over two decades.

After his passing in the early 1990s, the car was sold to collectors and, more recently, it underwent a refurbishment. It even won best-in-class at the 2016 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. An Exemplar 2 was built in 1972 based on a design penned by the same Mario Revelli but built by Carrozzeria Eurostyle.

The unique Examplar I is now being offered for sale out of West Hartford, Connecticut. It is in excellent condition throughout, has only 1,800 miles (nearly 2,900 km) on the odometer, and is now road-registered in Vermont as a 1967 Buick Riviera.