Plymouth XNR concept parks on the auction block [w/video]

AutoBlog: Plymouth XNR concept parks on the auction block [w/video]

1960 Plymouth XNR

The 1960 Plymouth XNR will cross the block next month at the RM Auction in Monterey, Calif.

The one-of-a-kind sports car was penned by Chrysler design guru Virgil Exner, who always hoped Chrysler would include a roadster in its lineup. The XNR featured a powerful six-cylinder engine that pumped out 250 horses and gave the XNR a top of speed of 150 mph.

Ultimately, the project never got the green light, and the XNR was shipped back to Carrozzeria Ghia in Italy, where it was built. You can watch Chrysler engineers test the XNR at the company's proving grounds in the video, scroll past the jump..

From there, the car's story gets more interesting. A series of owners bought it in the '60s, and it wound up in the Shah of Iran's garage. It was sold again before it disappeared. In the early 1980s, car collector Karim Edde discovered the XNR in Beirut, Lebanon, hidden away in an underground garage. He bought the car and shuffled it around safe houses as the civil war erupted around him.

Twenty years later, Edde had the XNR fully restored. Since it's a concept, there were no spare parts and whatever could not be repaired was fabricated. RM Auctions has not suggested a price the XNR will go for, but we hope its next owner continues the car's legacy.

Click to watch video