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Description
Ooh, now this is a real something from the 1950's, back when the stylings of the Chevy Bel Air were all the age, with long smooth bodies and fins on the rear!

Announced on October 2nd 1957, the PA Cresta was built to mimic the American fashion for giant tailfins, wrap-around windows and whitewall tyres, taking its cues from the 1957 model Buick Special announced twelve months before the Cresta, but in an understated way compared to the Cadillacs and Buicks of the time. All factory-built PAs were four-door saloons: the estate cars were converted by Friary of Basingstoke, Hampshire, and are rare cars today.

The PA Cresta had independent front suspension using coil springs and an anti-roll bar with a rigid axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. The Lockheed brakes used 9in drums all round. Carried over from the last of the E series cars, the 2,262cc six-cylinder engine had pushrod-operated overhead valves, producing 82.5hp. Top speed for this car was 89mph with a 0-60 of 16.8 seconds! By today's standards that's not even pedestrian, but of course time moved slower back then! It was however quite good in the fuel consumption department, at a range of 25.2MPG, which even today isn't that bad.

These cars were very well equipped with leather and nylon upholstery for its bench front and rear seats and woven pile carpet, a heater was fitted as standard, although the radio remained an option on the home market. Other options included fog lamps, reversing light, locking filler cap and external mirrors. In order to keep the front floor clear to seat six people the handbrake lever was mounted under the dashboard and the gearchange lever was column mounted. The car could be ordered painted in either single or two tone colours. Prices started at £1,014 without overdrive, which is about £22,600 now.

Description
Ooh, now this is a real something from the 1950's, back when the stylings of the Chevy Bel Air were all the age, with long smooth bodies and fins on the rear!

Announced on October 2nd 1957, the PA Cresta was built to mimic the American fashion for giant tailfins, wrap-around windows and whitewall tyres, taking its cues from the 1957 model Buick Special announced twelve months before the Cresta, but in an understated way compared to the Cadillacs and Buicks of the time. All factory-built PAs were four-door saloons: the estate cars were converted by Friary of Basingstoke, Hampshire, and are rare cars today.

The PA Cresta had independent front suspension using coil springs and an anti-roll bar with a rigid axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. The Lockheed brakes used 9in drums all round. Carried over from the last of the E series cars, the 2,262cc six-cylinder engine had pushrod-operated overhead valves, producing 82.5hp. Top speed for this car was 89mph with a 0-60 of 16.8 seconds! By today's standards that's not even pedestrian, but of course time moved slower back then! It was however quite good in the fuel consumption department, at a range of 25.2MPG, which even today isn't that bad.

These cars were very well equipped with leather and nylon upholstery for its bench front and rear seats and woven pile carpet, a heater was fitted as standard, although the radio remained an option on the home market. Other options included fog lamps, reversing light, locking filler cap and external mirrors. In order to keep the front floor clear to seat six people the handbrake lever was mounted under the dashboard and the gearchange lever was column mounted. The car could be ordered painted in either single or two tone colours. Prices started at £1,014 without overdrive, which is about £22,600 now.