4. Gaylord Gladiator
The Gaylord Brothers of Chicago established the Gaylord Motor Car Company in the early ‘’0s. It was supposed to be the producer of bespoke, luxurious sports cars for the world’s wealthiest clientele. The brothers inherited a fortune, so they wanted to invest a big part of it into a car company under their own name.
They named their first and only project the Gladiator. It debuted in 1955 at the Paris Motor Show, causing quite a stir among car enthusiasts. The Gaylord Gladiator featured a 300 HP V8 Chrysler Hemi or Cadillac engine. It achieved a top speed of 120 mph and 0 to 60 mph time of eight seconds, which was spectacular by the standards of the day.
Interestingly, the car had an ingenious automatic folding roof and a host of other luxury features that were years ahead of its time. Unfortunately, the Gladiator came with an astronomical price of $17,500. And that was almost three times as much as the price of the most expensive Cadillac.