The Pontiac Club de Mer was a purpose-built, idea auto that was revealed at the General Motors Motorama in 1956 to celebrate GM's dedication to high tech design. The invention of GM engineer-designer, Harley Earl (Paul Gillian was also concerned being the Pontiac Studio head at the time), the "de Mer" was a 2 door sport Dragster that incorporated cutting edge discovery styling like a sleek, low-profile body encasing an enormous powerplant, a design trend used widely in LSR (land speed record) trials at Bonneville Salt Terraces in Utah in the 1950s.
One Club de Mer prototype was made and exposed, with another -scale model, in Miami, Florida. As per GM's "kill order", it was ditched in 1958. Only the model exists today, which was the property of Joseph Bortz of Highland Park, IL. Till it was sold to noted auto collector Ron Pratt at the 2007 Barrett Jackson Classic Vehicle Auction for $75,000.

Design

Exterior

The design of the "de Mer" drew its visible impetus from contemporary aircraft construction of its day, employing an immaculate steel monocoque, individual wind screens like those on the 1955 Lincoln Futura ( later Television's Batmobile ), aerodynamically fashioned facia that flowed down from the hood skin to cover the majority of the griddle, hid headlights, and a single rear-deck dorsal fin. Also featured were twin "silver-streaks" that flowed into low-profile hood scoops, a carry-over from Pontiac's Bonneville Special 2 years previous.
The styling of the body was a smooth, non-undulating profile, like an Yank supersonic jet fighter, with nearly no bumps or recesses of any type save for the out-vents on the pioneering edge of both doors, and the fin. The auto had no fenders, a standard feature on most ideas, and the door handles were quite tiny. On a human scale, its most worrying feature was that it was regarded as having an awfully low profile at slightly below 39 in (990.6 mm).

Interior

The inside styling in the "de Mer" had a barebones functionality to it, more as per its speed trial airs than the flashier production vehicles available in showrooms at the time. Instruments were low key, with triangularly designed gauges mounted well behind a 3 spoke, GT-style steering wheel, round the steering column. The speedometer was positioned on the  top, and a smaller gauge on both sides, each enclosed in its own pod. The inside was completed in red, while passengers gained entry thru typical doors.

Design legacy

The look of the aerodynamic window was carried over to the 1955 and 1956 Corvette race autos. In the years that followed, the model kit creator Revell made a 0.5 five scale Club de Mer that basically came with 1950s-clad driver and passenger.

Power plant

Under the hood lay Pontiac's new V-8 engine, the 287 OHV, which was displayed the year previous. Called the Strato Streak, it was GM's strongest engine by 1955 and announced Pontiac's high-performance image with the Bonneville, Grand Prix and GTO. This high-output power plant was changed with a high-lift cam and fitted with 2 four-barrel carburetors to coax power up to a mighty three hundred bhp (220 kW).
The rear wheels were driven by a rear side mounted transaxle, used later in Pontiac's new compact, the 1961 Storm, on a DiDion Type firm rear spindle with independent suspension.