At first glance I thought "oh, no, not another botched attempt at updating a great old classic." Then I took a second glance and my reaction changed to "wow!" Friend and sometime contributor Nigel Matthews sent along this photo of a prototype which he says "sits on a Corvette C6 chassis, front styled like a 57 Chevy, side like a 58, rear like a 59. Hence the designation '789'." Apparently the builder plans a production run of 100 vehicles with buyers supplying their own Corvette chassis.

Attempts at creating a new automobile with yesterday's designs don't always succeed, however this one is downright gorgeous. The reason, aside from elegant proportions, is that it adds just the right mix of those exaggerated 50's styling gimmicks we've come to love. A little Web research revealed that it was created by the California design firm "N2A (no two alike) Motors", headed by Fred and Dan Kanter, partners in Kanter Auto Parts, the world's largest supplier of new, used and reproduction parts for antique American cars. Interestingly, Fred Kanter also owns the Packard brand name. What's next, a new Packard Caribbean on a Jaguar XK chassis?