The 1958 Ford Nucleon was a concept car built by Ford and there was only one ever constructed.
The car was supposed to be powered by a small nuclear reactor which was placed in the rear. The passenger compartment was situated close to the front of the car, extending beyond the front axle, to protect the passengers from the reactor.
The Ford Nucleon had a one piece windscreen with no pillar, a compound rear window and the aerodynamic styling looked very futuristic. Air intakes at the leading edge of the roof and at the base of the roof supports were meant to be part of the reactor’s cooling system.
The capsule with the radioactive core for motive power could easily be changed and it was said that the car could travel about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometres) without recharging. That was depending on the size of the core of course. At the end of its life the core would be taken to a charging station. The reactor was similar to the ones used in nuclear submarines but of course much smaller.
A working prototype of the Ford Nucleon never was built but it is an icon of the Atomic Age and shows that designers thought everything was possible.
A mock-up of the car can be seen at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Tags: car, Concept Car, Ford, Ford Nucleon
