IN A DESIGN STUDIO FAR, FAR AWAY... - RM Auctions

PLYMOUTH XNR
for three decades. Amazingly, it survived the
Lebanese Civil war, and businessman and
automotive enthusiast Karim Edde bought it
in the late 1980s.
Edde wanted nothing more than to return
the XNR to its former glory, but his search for
the right people to restore it took 20 years. He
turned to Rob Myers, the head of RM Auctions
and RM Restorations. Myers and his team
know their stuff, having restored cars for
several of the world’s most significant biggame
collectors that have gone on to win Best
in Show at Pebble Beach.
Mario Van Raay, general manager of RM
Auto Restoration Inc, picks up the story: ‘The
important stuff was all there, such as the body
panels and difficult-to-remake parts such as
those unusual bumpers. What wasn’t there, we
remade. Fortunately, there are many great and
detailed photos of the car, and from that we
could recreate anything that was missing.’
Some of the work was straightforward, other
aspects more complicated. For example, each
hubcap contains more than 30 individual metal
pieces that had to be fabricated, largely by
100 MARCH 2012
hand. Van Raay said that Ghia’s original
construction job was of good quality, but that
time had taken its toll and everything needed
to be redone. Exner’s son, Virgil M Exner Jr,
also a successful designer, visited the car
during restoration and was consulted on
accuracy and detailing. The Hyper-Pak
powertrain was intact and the original
components were rebuilt and reused.
Edde brims with justifiable enthusiasm
about his car: ‘I just love this design, plus its
historical importance.’ Its first major postrestoration
debut was at the Amelia Island
Concours d’Elegance last March – as you’d
expect, the car draws a crowd wherever it
appears. Octane caught up with the XNR for
the second time at Pebble Beach last August.
Prior to the concours itself, the car
participated in the 75-mile Tour d’Elegance on
the roads of the Monterey Peninsula, driven by
Edde with his sister in the passenger seat. The
XNR performed flawlessly, its throaty exhaust
note speaking in more sophisticated tones than
you might expect from an iron-blocked sixcylinder
engine originally developed for an
economy sedan. The XNR was a hit with the
Pebble Beach judges too, earning two awards
at the concours.
Karim Edde takes satisfaction in that both
he and RM’s skilled restoration team have
saved the car and brought it back to its showpony
specification and appearance, and has no
immediate plans other than to continue to
show it, and drive it when conditions permit.
Don’t expect to see it crossing an RM auction
block any time soon.
Exner himself enjoyed much success,
although he also lost his youngest son, suffered
heart attacks, and had to bear the indignity of
watering down his flamboyant design language
for the 1962 model year.
The ultimate insult? Chrysler Corporation
dismissed him after those problem-plagued
’62 models flopped in the marketplace. He
formed his own design consultancy with son
Virgil Jr, before passing away in his home state
of Michigan in 1973, but he’ll always be
remembered best for introducing the kind of
space age cars you might expect from a man
bearing the name Virgil Exner. End
‘AS YOU’D EXPECT, THE
CAR DRAWS A CROWD
WHEREVER IT APPEARS’