Ugly or odd vehicle, Brooks Stevens was commisioned to design this car in 1955. The Gaylord Gladiator

Notice the headlights (airplane lights?) are bigger than the model's head by a lot

It looks like a cross between Exner's Mercer Cobra http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/12/mercer-cobra-may-be-ugly-enough-to.html and the late 50's vettes.

and though the above photo is a decent shot, here is the same car in color from the back, with the hardtop convertible optional top in place:

found on https://www.facebook.com/pages/Time-Travelers-come-travel-back-in-time/284477301577152?ref=stream

For the source of these color photos http://www.gyronautx1.com/1/post/2012/12/from-the-camera-of-alex-tremulis-the-1955-paris-motor-show.html the 1955 Paris Motor show

and at the Fred Pittera's Universal Travel and Auto Sports Show, Madison Square Garden, February 1955:

the above image from http://www.reservatory6.blogspot.com/2013/07/new-york-city-auto-shows-1952-56.html
'55 Gaylord Gladiator. Jim and Ed Gaylord were car-crazy Chicago brothers whose father had invented (and patented) the bobby pin. With money to burn, they became local legends for their hopped up Cadillacs and LaSalles, not to mention a Packard massaged by Andy Granatelli. They were also friends of GM engineer Ed Cole, who showed them experimental stuff outsiders weren't even supposed to know about. In 1949, Jim sat down with designer Alex Tremulis, a Ford employee following a chaotic time with Preston Tucker. Gaylord had decided to build the world's finest sports car, on his own chromoly tube chassis with a big American V8 up front, and needed a stylist. Tremulis suggested Brooks Stevens, just the man for 'a modern car with classic overtones'. The result met with less than universal acclaim, although power and handling were widely praised. This car, with Lucas P100 headlamps instead of duals, is apparently a Hemi powered prototype built by Spohn, a classic-era German coachbuilder who survived into the fifties by concocting outlandish customs on American chassis for US servicemen stationed overseas. Sources state that the Gladiator made its debut at the Paris Auto Salon in October 1955, but this must refer to the Cadillac powered 'production' car, as this snapshot carries the same film lab batch code as the BMW and Lincoln Futura photos below, from February of that year. More info at http://www.chrisinmotion.com/GaylordGladiator.htm

Phoenix Concours 2016 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-biggest-surprise-ive-had-at-car.html full gallery

As ugly as the 2 headlamp exposed front wheel version is, it's not alone in it's atrocious design... I did a list of my top ten fugly cars: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2013/04/there-are-too-many-lazy-list-makers-on.html

http://collectibleautomobile.com/current-issue/  April 2017
https://www.carthrottle.com/post/gaylord-gladiator-the-bittersweet-tale-of-the-worlds-best-car/