Shooting brakes are family cars with three doors, usually modified coupe bodies, that wealthy people used to go hunting (you had to bring belongings and dogs) without sacrificing style. It is a typically English body type, but we find examples from other latitudes… like the 1955 Chevrolet Nomad… that belonged to Bruce Willis.
Yes, we are talking about the Bruce Willis that appears in pulp fictionThe fifth element, the last boy scout or the Christmas saga of The jungle of crystal. And this special actor chose a car that was also special, like this Chevrolet Nomad.
It is not a car with a very common body, of course. The Chevrolet Nomad was designed as a prototype by GM’s chief designer, Harley Earland his team in the mid-1950s as part of the line of Dream Cars from the 1954 General Motors Motorama, which included the Bonneville Special and the Oldsmobile F-88.
It was a concept radically identical to that of shooting brakes, with the front of a sports car, in this case the first-generation Corvette with a wagon-style body towards the rear. And it wasn’t going to go much further than a prototype, but the public response was so overwhelmingly positive that it got the green light for production.
Be careful, when the moment of truth arrives, the Chevrolet Nomad was not based on the Corvette chassis, but on the Chevrolet A-body platform instead of a Corvette. It retained the design of the prototype at the rear, but at the front used the front of the chevrolet belair second generation, with some of its badges and trim. The two-piece opening tailgate and large cargo area made the Nomad very popular with surfers, who could sleep in the back on their wave-seeking trips.
The original series of Chevrolet Nomad began production in 1955 and lasted until 1957. It was then replaced by a four-door Nomad estate from 1958 to 1961, and a third generation, also with four doors, appeared from 1968 to 1972. Neither had any real ties to the original vehicle… other than the name.
The first generation Chevrolet Nomad was one of the most expensive production cars offered by the brand, beyond the Corvette. A 4,340 cc V8 engine was fitted as standard, although a 4,640 cc V8 was later offered. And be careful, it was selling well and was popular, as demonstrated by the launch of the Ford Parklane in 1956 as a competitor (those of the oval stopped production just a year later, although it sold almost twice as much as the Chevrolet).
And we return to the history of this unit, to which Bruce Willis made some improvements, such as air conditioning, a better sound system… a V8 327 engine (one of Chevrolet’s most popular engines, being small-block V8 aspiration most potent natural). neither are the 15-inch Cragar wheels with Goodyear Eagle GT tires or the front disc brakes original.
The engine is equipped with a four-cylinder Holley carburetor, aluminum intake manifold and radiator, an electronic ignition system, Corvette valve covers. With a body in Indian ivory Y cashmere bluematching its interior, with beige and blue vinyl upholstery, we have stopped at this vehicle because this unit was sold on December 8 in Los Angeles for $64,555.
Source: Bring a Trailer
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