THE CAR THAT JIMMY BUILT Information courtesy of Doug Furhmann

The racing car built by James Darren's character in the movie, The Lively Set, was actually a white prototype for The Chrysler Turbine Car, made in 1963.

Chrysler produced only 50 of these cars as experimental production models to test public reaction to the turbine engine. They were all painted bronze with a black vinyl top, and were powered by a gas turbine engine which could run on any combustible liquid - perfume, jet fuel, kerosene, as well as gasoline.

The exterior of the car was styled by a designer named Elwood Engel whose designs for the soon-to-be released Ford Thunderbird were wrapped-up before he left Ford to work for Chrysler. As a result, the Turbine Car bore a striking resemblance to the 1964-66 Thunderbird - so much so that it was even nicknamed the "Englebird".

The 50 Turbine Cars produced by Chrysler in 1963 were loaned to some 200 handpicked consumers, over a three year period, who agreed to drive the cars free of charge and report their likes and dislikes to the company.

But because the cars' bodies were built in Italy, the law required they be demolished in the presence of customs officials after the three year trial. Chrysler managed to save only a handful, most of which are inoperable and in various museums today. Unfortunately, amongst those destroyed in 1966 was the white prototype used in The Lively Set.

Thankfully, at least it survives on celluloid.