In several midcentury Ford publicity films that we've seen, Ford went to great lengths to show how it incinerated or otherwise destroyed unused renderings of future cars to prevent industrial espionage. These were precious secrets, and if they got out into the hands of the general public, why, who knows what sort of mayhem they would cause in Detroit and around the world?

Could also be that Ford's design managers just didn't want the public to see renderings of designs they didn't choose as a means of managing expectations. Design is, after all, largely subjective, and at the end of the day, the company can only tool up for one overall design rather than a plethora of designs to satisfy multiple customers.

Anyway, we now know that not every unused rendering at every automobile company got chucked into the incinerator. Some remained in company files until archivists decided to preserve them. Some left the design offices with the designers themselves via covert means. And still others could simply be plucked from the trash.

One, signed "Barry '68," appears to show a design study for the Torino Sportsroof, though with a far more angular face. Not sure why, but this has the feel of a GM rendering rather than one out of Dearborn.

Recognize any of the designs or designers?