Deco Rides Boattail Speedster by Chip Foose
(from Deco Rides) One
of the best looking cars ever designed in the history of automobiles
was the Auburn Boattail Speedster. Originally designed in the late
1920's and early 1930's by two of the greatest stylists in
automotive history, Alan Leamy and Gordon Buehrig. classic marques
with custom coachbuilder bodies like Duesenberg, Packard and Auburn
sported "boattail" body styles. We decided to build a hybrid in the
tradition of these all time best-styled automobiles, a "crossbreed"
between one of the world's best looking classics and hot rods.
We hired the nation's top rod designer, Chip Foose, to create a 21st
Century Boattail. The results are spectacular. Chip has shaped three
different cars that won the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award
for three years in a row. He also recently won the coveted RIDDLER
Award in Detroit. Now you can own a Chip Foose designed car, but you
don't have to spend six figures to do so.
Creator of the famed "SCRAPE" Zephyr, Terry Cook of DECO RIDES, Long Valley, NJ, has just completed this Chip Foose-designed, Auburn-inspired Boattail Speedster. Foose is considered by many to be the leading designer/builder in the hot rod industry. He studied Transportation Design at the Art Center School in Pasadena, and presently is the principal builder/designer of two automotive cable televison programs.
The car was built over a
period of six years by Rob Ida (NJ), Mike Ball (IN), Ramsey Mosher
(DE), and was completed by SPEEDSTER MOTORCARS in Clearwater, FL. A
true roadster with no top or side windows, the 127-inch wheelbase
car sits on a custom built FAT MAN FABRICATIONS frame with
independent front suspension and sturdy 9-inch Ford rear. Coil-over
shock absorbers and power disc brakes are used on the front and rear
suspension. The engine is an almost new (300 miles of use) 488 cubic
inch Dodge Viper with six-speed manual transmission. A custom built
stainless steel exhaust system by BORLA EAST can route everything
through a pair of mufflers and out ten miniature fishtail exhaust
tips protruding from under the rear "wings". At the touch of a
switch, an electrically controlled slide valve opens and the exhaust
exits unmuffled through a pair of "straight pipes". The Boattail is
painted HOUSE OF KOLOR Tangello orange and pearl white, with leather
ostrich interior. The new owner can pick from either a pair of
P205/60R15 front and larger P275/60R15 rear wide whitewalls mounted
on chromed wire wheels, or a set of low profile BFG 295/40ZR18 front
and 295/45ZR18 black walls mounted on FOOSE billet wheels.
The car was auctioned Aug. 13-14, 2004 at the 19th annual Monterey
Sports Car Auction at the DoubleTree Hotel @ Fisherman's Wharf in
Monterey, CA during the week of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
It sold for $125,000.
DECO RIDES of Long Valley, NJ is combining forces with SPEEDSTER MOTORCARS of Clearwater, FL to produce "turnkey" Foose Boattail Speedsters powered by brand new 295 hp 5.3L Chevy V-8 engines with four speed automatic transmissions. Painted your choice of colors and upholstered in leather, the cars, priced at $89,000, are ready for you to drive home. A folding top that stows away in the trunk is an available option. Find out more at www.decorides.com