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The Story of the Mercury D-528, the Innovative Concept Car You've Never Heard Of

While most concept cars hit the auto show circuit in search of glory, some are never shown to the public and remain with the carmaker as experimental vehicles or rolling laboratories. The 1955 Mercury D-528 is one of those cars. It's also one of the most innovative concepts you probably never heard of.
1955 Mercury D-528 concept car 13 photos
Photo: Petersen Automotive Museum/YouTube
1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car1955 Mercury D-528 concept car
Developed in the 1950s, in an era when concepts were called dream cars, the D-528 was built to test various ideas that were new (and even wild) at the time.

A low-slung, pillarless four-door with intriguing rear fenders, the Mercury D-528 is one of the lesser-known experimental vehicles from the era. Mostly because it was never shown to the public on the auto show circuit.

A rather unusual approach at first glance, but Ford had plenty of reasons not to showcase the D-528. For starters, the car was never finished to meet auto show exhibit standards.

It was far from perfect due to gap issues around the hood and unaligned window trim, but it was also continuously modified by Ford engineers.

But that's not to say that the Mercury spent its entire life at the company's headquarters. The D-528 actually made some sort of public debut in 1964, 10 years after its initial completion. That's when it appeared in "The Patsy," a comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis.

1955 Mercury D\-528 concept car
Photo: Petersen Automotive Museum/YouTube
The car had been modified by George Barris for remote control operation of the doors, hood, and trunk. He also changed the nameplate from "D582" to "Beldone" at Paramount Picture's request. It was then featured in a television series before Ford decided to sell it.

While it wasn't necessarily futuristic for 1955, the D-528 was impressively long and low compared to production models from the era. The protruding front fascia with wide, vertical slats made it stand out, as did the four-door hardtop configuration with no B-pillars.

However, the latter was replaced with a roll bar to improve safety in the event of a rollover, an innovative feature at the time.

It also sported a fully cast fiberglass body, the largest Ford had made to date, and a plexiglass windshield. The reverse-sloping rear window was also a first for Ford. It eventually appeared on a production Lincoln in 1958 and found its way on Mercury cars in the mid-1960s.

More importantly, it was the first-ever vehicle to feature an electrically-operated rear window. The latter made it into production quite rapidly, hitting dealerships in the 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser.

The D-528 also introduced a different approach to rear fins, which incorporated lump-shaped lids that revealed storage compartments. While the right fender housed a spare tire, the left one hid the gas tank.

1955 Mercury D\-528 concept car
Photo: Petersen Automotive Museum/YouTube
This solution was adopted to provide a spacious trunk despite the need to accommodate a large air conditioning system in the rear of the car.

Granted, having the gas tank in the rear fin was far from safe in the event of a collision, but Ford wasn't very concerned about that. The company's focus was on the innovative air conditioning system that allowed cool air to fall on the passengers through the perforated headliner.

The idea was for the passengers to not be exposed to drafts, but the concept proved unpractical, so it never made it to production. But it's unique, to say the least, and shows that Detroit automakers were doing a lot of experiments back in the day.

While the car's exterior was far from futuristic, the interior showcased a decidedly modern layout with a wraparound dashboard that extended into the door panels.

The latter were much thicker at the top, which resulted in a deeply sculpted design. The idea was never fully implemented in production cars, but both Lincoln and Mercury got wraparound dashboards starting in 1956.

The D-528 was far from special under the hood, though, where it housed a Y-block V8 engine. Ford had introduced the design in 1954 as a replacement for the dated Flathead V8, and, by 1955, it was also available in Mercury and Ford cars, including the then-new and spectacular Thunderbird.

There's no specific information as to when Ford decided to allow the D-528 to go into private hands, but the concept was owned by several collectors through 2022. And it was repainted quite a few times in the process before it ended up as a restored classic in its original copper hue in the Petersen Automotive Museum.

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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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