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Jeep Bolide XJ-002 Concept Car
“The Jeep that ‘Never Existed” – But it Does!
Coincidences or Serendipity?
By: Dan Kunz
"The AACA National Judging Committee has initiated a program for certified Designated Limited Production, Prototype, and Experimental Vehicles… Your 1970 Jeep Bolide XJ002 has been approved for Class 35A… Your 1970 Jeep Bolide XJ002 is the 9th prototype…to be accepted to class 35A. It is the only one known to the AACA…” - The AACA National Judging Committee. December 12, 2024
The Basics:
The original Jeep Commando base car for the Bolide XJ-002 is serial #059729, a V6-cylinder pickup truck near the end of the production run. It has the Turbo-Hydramatic 400 and a 3.31 rear. The transfer case and hubs are also as installed by Kaiser-Jeep. While it appears that it is the 729th Commando built in the build year, that is incorrect as most of the Commandos produced were 4-cylinder coupes and not the optional V6 pickups. However, hard facts about serial numbers for the 1968-1970 Jeeps are confusing and sketchy at best. Number assignments seem to have been made somewhat randomly and little, if any documentation was kept! The VIN matches from day 1 to the present on all ownership papers.
This Commando left the factory on 8/13/69. It was called a 1969 in some places and a 1970 in others as was the norm back then. The car originally went to Albro Leasing via Chrysler Credit. This unusual process is described later. The car’s title, prior to the author’s purchase showed about 107,000 miles which was completely impossible. When the car was re-discovered by the author it had 9,049 actual miles on it. The VIN reflected the time period the car existed but not the limited street and off-road use it had received by prior owners. It appeared that a 10 was added by the West Virginia Motor Vehicle Department. The documents submitted to Virginia Motor Vehicle Department clearly showed that the 107,000 mileage previously recorded had to be a typo because of a likely misunderstanding of what the car actually was or how limited its street and off-road use was. However, it was registered, plated and insured in some states. Full vetting occurred by a Virginia Motor Vehicle Inspector hence a Jeep (not ASM) title was issued in Virginia.
The Bolide XJ-002 is the first and only Kaiser-Jeep factory-authorized concept car to be built by an outside firm. It is believed to be the only Kaiser-Jeep concept car still in existence. The Jeep XJ-002 was also the last Kaiser-Jeep concept car and was to be both a marketing concept and initial prototype for eventual production. It is a one-of-one. It was displayed at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) in 1970. It is fully documented and has complete provenance. It was a driver, street legal and street driven for about five years in various states after the 1970 NYIAS. It was to be a buck for a Cycolac plastic body after production refinements were finished. Hence, the body was made to look good at the show from behind the ropes and not be street driven or bashed off road. When found deterioration and damage was extensive.
Another Jeep Concept Car, the XJ-001, was built at Kaiser-Jeep and based on a CJ-5 with a V-8. It was destroyed when its transporter crashed. Some references said that either the XJ-001 or XJ-002 was the ‘Cowboy’ but they weren’t. The Cowboy apparently was a revised pickup truck-style vehicle.
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The ‘Jeepster’ Commando (C-101) pickup frame and running gear, as a complete running car, was leased to Borg-Warner’s Marbon Chemical Division, Centaur Engineering Group. This strange process is addressed later. The car is the first modern SUV. In print it was referenced as a four-wheel drive “Jeep Sports Car and All- Purpose Utility Vehicle.” It also appears to be the first ‘bubble T-top’ designed and built for proposed production. In many ways the Bolide was decades ahead of its time. Many today think it would be a ‘cool’ Jeep. Even today some of the lines and ideas of the Bolide XJ-002 have been carried forward by more recent Jeep styling prototypes.
The Bolide was authorized by John Cady of Kaiser-Jeep as a possible candidate for production and sale thru the Bolide Motor Car Company (Huntington, New York). John Cady was either the President or a Vice-President of Kaiser-Jeep. The historic records differ. The XJ-002 was to be a joint venture between Kaiser-Jeep, Borg Warner (owner of Cycolac Thermoplastic) and Jack Griffith. Andrew “Jack” Griffith, of Griffith Motors was to handle market testing, assembling and distribution via his company Huntington Motor Cars. It was to be shown in select Jeep dealers. Jack Griffith built his own Cobra competitor called the Griffith. It had a Ford V8 in a European body. The Bolide was to have a similar distribution and marketing process as to what was done through select Ford dealers for the Cobra and Jack’s Griffith. Dann Deaver of Borg-Warner’s Marbon ‘skunk works’ (Centaur Engineering in Michigan) was to design and build the prototype and then do the refinements for a production vehicle.
One purpose was to build a new and ‘more youthful image’ fun car for the Jeep lineup and the second reason was to protect John Cady’s job by showing his ‘future think’ for AMC. Not sure which was more important to whom, but both those purposes failed.
The final ‘go ahead’ meeting occurred in very late 1969 or early 1970 with Kaiser-Jeep’s John Cady, Dann Deaver and Jack Griffith. The car needed to be designed, built and delivered to the auto show in NY city in April 1970. An outrageously quick timeline! The Bolide was patterned and built upside down with all running gear in place. Dann Deaver believed they did a good looking and interesting but ‘downtown job’ designing it and building it so quickly. No time for a clay or any major changes. Pick a direction and idea and go with it. That is what ‘skunk works’ do so well! They hoped that if it drew positive attention, it could then be upgraded to a good producible Cycolac ‘body drop’ for production using all other existing Jeep Commando components.
Now about Albro Leasing. The Commando could not be given to Deaver and Griffith by Kaiser-Jeep due to the AMC-Kaiser negotiations. So, there was a clandestine situation established to go through Chrysler to Albro Leasing to Borg Warner get a car to Centaur Engineering (Dann Deaver) for the design and build. Very convoluted but the only way to accomplish Cady’s goals and expectations. Neither the Boards of Directors of Kaiser-Jeep or AMC knew of this build and both were surprised to see it at the NYIAS clearly labeled with Jeep insignia and signage.
Shortly after the XJ-002 concept car ‘go ahead’ was given, AMC concluded the purchase of Kaiser-Jeep. Technically the sale was in February 1970 but it was supposedly to be formally concluded and announced at the auto show. AMC was quick to begin purging Kaiser-Jeeps senior staff. AMC didn’t want the XJ-002 back after the NYIAS because it was a ‘whim’ and not a cash-producing car. Just an expense. There is no evidence that AMC ever paid for the development and production work previously assumed by Borg-Warner, Dann Deaver and Jack Griffith.
Rather than being turned over to AMC, the XJ-002 was sent back to Dann Deaver at Centaur Engineering where it remained and was street driven for years. The car eventually had to be returned to Borg-Warner after those first street years because Albro Leasing wanted their car back. Apparently, Borg-Warner, thru Dann Deaver’s Centaur expense account, had continued the lease payments during those after-return years. But since the original body no longer existed the car had to be paid off and was returned to Borg-Warner in West Virginia. Dann Deaver and Borg Warner had parted company. Shortly thereafter the Bolide was sold to the Borg-Warner Marketing Manager and then sold, owned and driven by various people on the street and off road in various states for additional years.
As shown at the NYIAS the Jeep Bolide XJ-002 had a plastic windshield and no doors. Doors were being worked on from photos of molds but were not done in time to complete them for the NY show, therefore they were left off. The drive mechanicals were basically stock Jeep. But they added a chrome air cleaner and some parts of the emission system were partly removed! The underbody, hardware, mechanicals and raw fiberglass interior were all hand painted black with house paint. Obviously, the 13” wide wheels, tractor tires, dash gauges and seats were to give it a more sporty, aggressive, and finished appearance.
The Bolide was still intact and running in 1996 when purchased by the author and still had mostly original parts. The running gear has since been rebuilt. The body is in final stages of restoration and will be as presented at the auto show. The car did survive on and off roading but it was in very poor shape when found. As noted previously, this prototype was never intended to be a street driver…just a buck. And certainly not off road used to the extent that it was. Some of the original interior, the wheels, and original tires were lost over time, but photos of the originals remain. The current owners have been able to find original equipment replacements for various parts including the original wheel rim blanks and tires from the original supplying shops.
To complete the job quickly the car used Mustang tail light covers, Chrysler Challenger marker lights and GTO/Camero/Firebird Marigold yellow paint which made the car ‘pop’ at the show. Different dash gauges and patterned upholstery on the seats were added for the show. It all hung together quite nicely. The camo-painted half doors, made of fabric and rebar, camo body paint, the light bar, the changed nose and hood scoop and the rear louvers over the trunk were added by the prior owner who used the car off road.
Only basic, minimal and absolutely necessary equipment and switches were installed and connected for the show car. The prototype console that Dann Deaver designed for the Hurst Jeep which was introduced later in the 1970 was used. The heater and some other parts were omitted or changed for better street driving by the designer/builder, Dann Deaver, back and forth to work for a number of years in Michigan after it was returned from New York. It never had any full enclosure. Deaver said it was great in snow. Brave and tough!
When AMC bought Kaiser-Jeep many old records were trashed. And when Chrysler bought the Jeep line even more old info and records were discarded. Fiat destroyed yet more documents. There are discrepancies in serial numbers by year for 1968 to 1970 Jeeps and that continued into the early AMC years of ownership. Stelantis has less interest in the history of the Jeep line. Even the in-house Jeep and then the AMC historians said the XJ-002 never was built and its existence was a myth. In addition, a noted Jeep historian said the same thing. Obviously wrong. There were numerous myths, but all have been debunked. Those no longer existing records are one of the reasons why this build became clandestine, unknown to virtually any ‘insiders’ or historians.
Design, Build and Marketing:
As noted above, the designer and builder was Dann Deaver Borg-Warner Marbon Cycolac Plastics Division, Centaur Engineering skunk works (a mouthful!). He designed and built the show car in Michigan, using fiberglass for a quick body build. There was no clay model. The car, if produced would be made of Cycolac Thermoplastic. Only a single car was built, and when the car was not authorized for continuance Dann destroyed the bucks and molds. This information was provided to the author by Deaver after I already had the car and had started my tracking research.
At Centaur Engineering the car was originally referred to and affectionately known as ‘the grunt’. The name was changed to Bolide which, depending on the source of the translation of this French word is either a fast-moving comet entering the atmosphere or a specific type of wind. XJ was for Experimental Jeep.
There were rumors of three Bolide XJ-002s having been built but that is just one of the myths surrounding the story of this unique vehicle. One Bolide was supposedly owned by an Arab Sheik, the second kept by the US Military after testing. But a visit to the US Military’s Aberdeen Proving Grounds and a search of their extensive library proved this was incorrect and just another myth. The military testing myth probably occurred because of Deaver’s Mehari which is a sort of miniature version of the VW Thing but built on a Citroen 2-CV platform and was available in France. These rumors are incorrect but good storytelling! Dann confirmed only one was built!
Dann Deaver was also the designer of the Corvair powered “Can Am”. The Bolide was derived from that car in a very unusual way. Dann also designed: the “Man From Uncle” car; the Piranha; another concept based on the Datsun Z; the Mehari; a 2CV-Based street-legal micro car; a sand dune flotation tire motorcycle; and, a Jeep Camper Conversion among other unique vehicles. And, over the years he also designed the Renegade and Wrangler extended fenders, parts for the Hurst Jeep and other enhancements for the Jeep lineup. Very out of the box thinking at Centaur Engineering!
Deaver had built the running/racing Corvair-based car called the “Can Am”. But after meeting with Kaiser-Jeep’s Cady, who obviously wanted a unique vehicle based on Jeep underpinnings, Dann Deaver and Jack Griffith decided that if they “squatted up” (Deaver’s term) the rear-engine Corvair design, the result would fit nicely on a front-engine Jeepster Commando chassis and look “Jeep-ish” yet unique. They also used a clown balloon for part of the ‘squishing’ look. It took only a few days to go from the ‘go ahead’ no design to the first sketch of something that ‘looked right’ and they could build. Jack Griffith was sure it would do well.
In April 1970, I went to the NY International Auto Show and took a picture of the car in booth 309-B. The Kaiser-Jeep booth was number 109. I have a picture of me standing next to that car at that show. Therefore, when I began my search for information about the car many years later, I knew it had existed but not that it still may exist.
The reasons given for not including the Bolide XJ-002 in the Jeep booth were varied during my years of provenance research. One or more of the following were noted: AMC’s concluding the purchase of Kaiser-Jeep; it might compete with the in-house built XJ-001; the car was considered a ‘whim’ and a cost drain; the Bolide was already well along in construction and since it was to be built and marketed as a ‘body drop’ by Jack Griffith it was decided to put it in a separate booth. John Cady had hope! Finally, it was thought that if the car had any future AMC could at least sell Commando running stock to Jack Griffith for assembly. Lots of speculation. Unlike the car that really exists, all these speculations are just opinions. More myths?
At the show the Bolide had rubber floor mats, additional and different dash gauges, a console with cloth covering, upholstered high back seats, a covered dash but no headliner. The full interior and underbody were rough-ish fiberglass including the floor and inside of the bubble T-top. Slightly smoothed but unfinished fiberglass in the interior was hand painted by brush in black house paint as was the frame and all under car mechanical components. This was completed in the trailer on the way to the NYIAS.
There have been multiple owners with titles and a few without titles. The car was titled in Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia (as ASM), and is currently titled in Virginia as a 1969 Jeep. It was called a 1970 as many cars of that era were identified as the next year’s car after they were actually built in the prior year. We have followed that protocol. The car was titled after DMV being told that I could not bring the car to them as it was then out of state and in pieces. Fortunately, the inspector was a real car guy and found all the paperwork in order and accepted, as original, the reasonableness of the 9,049 miles on a photo of the odometer. That mileage appears on the title. A few additional miles are being added as final component testing is done.
When found the Bolide, originally Marigold yellow, had been re-painted using house paint and a brush. It was light blue, dark blue, black, hot pink and finally camo. All colors were found as the body was stripped. It had added dash board embroidery noting ‘Wild Thang, I Think I Luv Ya’. The current owners have numerous art and documentation photos and design drawings. Some signed by Deaver and Griffith. Many slides, pictures and video footage of the original vehicle exist.
As part of the provenance there is a taped oral history with Dann Deaver regarding the Bolide’s design, build, testing and history. Videos of the Bolide on a test track and in weeds also are in the collection.
Many concept cars are not drivers nor finished. Many have no ‘innards’. The Bolide was fully street legal (ahhh, better times!), titled, registered, insured and driven in multiple states but still unfinished to any point resembling an immediately reproducible and production-ready vehicle. Further development work was needed but since AMC cancelled the project there was no need to continue further refinements.
The current owners also have the original brochure for the car, a full NYIAC program, all publications noting the XJ-002, design drawings and photos and an original copy of the only book that had a photo layout of the Bolide XJ-002 at the NYIAS — ‘The JEEP Book; America's Premier Recreational Vehicle (Martyn Schorr, Performance Publications)’. Martyn was at that show and found the car unique and interesting.
Finding and Documenting:
So, how was the car found and documented? Subtitled, how many weird “coincidences” can happen before one believes this was all meant to happen??? Serendipity?
Quite a few years after the Bolide was built and shown I had to drive through West Virginia and actually saw the pink painted car on a dealer’s lot. Unfortunately, I was unable to stop and chat. To me it was obvious what car it was as it had been burned into my memory. On the trip back the car was gone. I didn’t stop.
After that I bought a book titled “Cars That Never Were” and the XJ-001 was presented but not the XJ-002. It was stated that the XJ-002 was not built. That peaked more than a little interest as I knew it had existed and been displayed at the 1970 NYIAS. The hunt for information began.
I decided to use the pictures I had taken at the NYIAS and gather more info about the car. I sent out photos, including of one with the Jeep signage and a rough description of the car to more than 100 magazines, builders, designers, museums, and collectors. This was before the web. Few responded and those that did did not know what it was. One said that it looked like an Opel GT on drugs.
Kit Car Illustrated was the only magazine that did publish a picture of the car with my name, town and state and asked their readers if anyone could identify it. I did not subscribe to that magazine and didn’t know Kit Car had done so. A few days after publication I received a call from a person in West Virginia who said he has the car and he asked if I would like to buy it. His neighbor subscribed to Kit Car Illustrated! I drove there immediately, just a short distance away from the Borg-Warner Marbon Cycolac Chemical plant. It indeed was the Bolide XJ002 show car. We agreed to a price. The Bolide was then in the camo paint off-road configuration and very rough. As time passed some fiberglass parts fell off as they were damaged during off-roading and the base fiberglass was a ‘downtown job’ from the start.
Since purchase by the author ‘life got in the way’ and the car’s restoration ceased. The car was then stored in various locations. Restoration is now progressing nicely nearly 30 years later.
So, how was the car actually documented? I wanted more info before I started any restoration after my purchase. At the time I was living in Virginia and was serving as the Executive Director of a national math/science/engineering program for high school students (JETS) run with the National Society of Professional Engineers. One of the members of the JETS Board of Directors was the Education Director for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Another of the Board members was a VP at Ford. Both were avid car guys. My Ford board member referred me to the head of Ford’s ‘materials division’ to whom I then spoke. That VP said the designer and builder was familiar to him and was in his office just a few weeks or so before our conversation. That is how I found Dann Deaver and started on the path to get the full history of the car. Thru Dann I reached the Marketing Director at Borg-Warner who had bought the car after it was returned to Borg-Warner. I was able to obtain a copy of his title and from there I could backtrack titles and also find subsequent owners. Hence full documentary history exists.
Once I had the information from Deaver I found that the car was mentioned in the Standard Catalog of American Cars. No photos could be found at the time of that publication. That publication led me to other writings and publications. (Allpar, Legend, Hemmings, AACA, Muscle Machines and others have all since published information about this car.)
The Future:
Regarding restoring, showing and judging the car, I wrote for Allpar.com: “The full exact and to original specs restoration, as the car was shown at the NY International Auto Show, will prove to be interesting for people who look for a 100-point restoration. Why? According to Deaver the frame, undercarriage and raw fiberglass interior (all of which I saw when I was at the Auto Show) were being hand painted by brush with black house paint while the Bolide XJ-002 was in the trailer on the way to the show. The outside was beautifully finished. So, I wonder how to determine where the paint drips should be?” Confusion for judges. The Bolide XJ002 will return to the condition as made and shown with consideration of light modifications as originally street driven by Dann Deaver.
This unique, trend-setting and one-of-one historic concept/prototype vehicle has it’s provenance and will again exist in original NYIAS show and first street driven form.
Without knowing the future, the Jeep Bolide XJ-002 likely started the SUV trend, long before SUVs became popular.
THIS ONE-OF-ONE JEEP PROTYPE/CONCEPT CAR THAT ‘NEVER EXISTED’ … DOES!!!!