This is the 1967 Exemplar I, it’s the only one of its kind that was ever made, and the sole purpose of its creation was to showcase copper, brass, and bronze as materials for use in the automotive industry.
The Exemplar I was entirely funded by the Bridgeport Brass Company and the Copper Development Association. They sent a 1967 Buick Riviera Gran Sport across the Atlantic to Italy where it was given a new body designed by Mario Revelli de Beaumont and built by Carrozzeria Coggiola.
Fast Facts – The Exemplar I
- The Exemplar I is a car that was built for one reason, and one reason alone – to showcase the use of copper, brass, and bronze for both ornamental and practical uses within the automotive industry.
- The project was co-funded by the Bridgeport Brass Company and the Copper Development Association. They sent a 1967 Buick Riviera Gran Sport to Turin in Italy, where it was completely rebodied by Carrozzeria Coggiola to a design penned by Mario Revelli de Beaumont.
- Once completed, the car was sent back to the United States where it was first shown at a private event to executives from the Bridgeport Brass Company and the Copper Development Association. It was then shown to the general public for the first time at the 1968 New York Auto Show where it attracted a great deal of attention.
- After its debut, the Exemplar I went on a two year tour of the United States, being shown at countless other shows coast to coast. After this it was scheduled to be scrapped, but Bridgeport Brass Company head honcho Herman Steinkrau stepped in and bought the car, saving it from the crusher and preserving it for decades.
- The vehicle was restored more recently, and it’s now being offered for sale out of West Hartford, Connecticut in excellent condition throughout, with all the original copper, brass, and bronze still on show.
The Brass Era
Back at the dawn of the age of the automobile, copper, brass, and bronze were used extensively in the construction of each vehicle. The copper-based materials were so common in fact that the name for this period in automotive history is now referred to as the Brass Era, encompassing cars from 1896 through till 1915.
The Exemplar I was designed by Mario Revelli de Beaumont and built by Carrozzeria Coggiola, it was first shown to the world at the 1968 New York Auto Show. Image courtesy of Mario Revelli de Beaumont.
As automotive mass-production picked up steel, nickel plating, enamel, and paints largely took the place of brass, in later years still chrome would replace nickel and it remains a common plating material on cars and motorcycles to the modern day.
Bringing Copper Back
In 1964 the Copper Development Association had a concept car built by Carrozzeria Sibona-Bassano of Turin, Italy to a design penned by Virgil Exner and his son, Virgil Exner Jnr.
The car was based on a stretched Shelby Cobra chassis and featured an avant garde body built with ample use of copper, brass, and bronze. It was named the 1964 Mercer-Cobra and it was hoped that its creation would inspire Detroit to use more copper in their production cars.
Although the car attracted much attention, it didn’t result in any notable increase in copper use by the automotive industry – but this didn’t seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the Copper Development Association.
The Arrival Of The Exemplar I
In 1967, now working in collaboration with the Bridgeport Brass Company, the Copper Development Association had a new concept car designed by Mario Revelli de Beaumont. It would be an entirely modern design, ahead of its time if anything, looking far more like a vehicle from the mid-1970s than 1967.
Under the engine bay you’ll notice the spare wheel is mounted up front. Copper plating and copper parts are used extensively under the hood to showcase the material.
The design was made into a reality by Carrozzeria Coggiola in Turin using a brand new 1967 Buick Riviera Gran Sport as its foundation. The body would be all new, and the car would include a number of unusual features for the time, including dual radiators and a front-mounted spare tire fore of the engine.
Once the car was built it was shipped to the United States where it was shown at a private event for executives from the Bridgeport Brass Company and the Copper Development Association. Soon after it would be unveiled to the general public at the 1968 New York Auto Show.
The car was fitted with a slew of parts made from copper and copper-based materials including copper alloy disc brake rotors, copper fuel lines, twin copper radiators, brass-plated 16” Borrani wire wheels with vented copper-plated ears, a copper disc covering the spare tire under the hood, a copper air cleaner cover, a copper coolant expansion tank, and even a copper firewall shrouding.
Copper and copper-plated accents adorn the exterior of the car from front to back, all covered with what is described as a protective transparent coating to ward off corrosion. The inside of the car is similar adorned, with a copper-plated console and center tunnel trim, seat side shields, vents, roof panel frames, and various other trim pieces and switchgear.
If anything, the extensive use of copper has been a distraction from Mario Revelli de Beaumont’s design work. As noted further up, the car was well-ahead of its time in the styling department, and may very well have been an inspiration for some stylists in Detroit well into the 1970s.
The Exemplar I: Now For Sale
After it had been shown in New York the Exemplar I went on a two year tour of shows across the United States. After this it was scheduled to be scrapped – as it has not been built to comply with current federal safety and emissions standards in the United States, therefore it couldn’t be road registered.
Copper plating was used extensively throughout the cabin, as well as across the exterior of the car.
Fortunately, Bridgeport Brass Company president Herman Steinkraus bought the car himself. He couldn’t bear to see it destroyed, and he kept it in storage on his private estate for decades. After his passing it was sold onto collectors who later had it restored.
The car has now reappeared in West Hartford, Connecticut on Bring a Trailer where it’s being offered for sale. It is now road registered in Vermont as a 1967 Buick Riviera, if you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
