1956 marked the last model year for the Petoskey Indian equipped with the Mil Spec 360. The two remaining model years used the 261 OHV as the only engine option. Without any major changes sales of the Indian declined to the point that Petoskey Motors announced that 1958 would be the final model year. When 1958 rolled around Petoskey unveiled the replacement for the Indian for the 1959 model year: The Rapier!
The Rapier was advertised as the car of the future. Being the first automobile by Petoskey Motors to feature side-mounted indicator lights. The galvanized steel monocoque chassis and aluminum panels were advertised as ushering in a new car for the space age. Finally the powertrain included a single-carb variant of the 261 SOHC inline-six found in the Meteor coupled to a four-speed manual transmission. This model did not feature an automatic transmission.
Despite slick advertising efforts the Rapier did not sell as well as initially hoped. Despite not being stellar, sales of the Rapier were decent enough to see Petoskey Motors leaving the 1950’s with its head held high.