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1955 Hagemann GMC Special news, pictures, and information | ||
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The beautiful one-off aluminum body was fabricated by Jack Hagemann. He wanted to polish the aluminum rather than paint it (like his Webster Can-Am car), but Sulprizio insisted it had to be red, and so it was. The body has a strong Italian influence (e.g. Ferrari Monza) and Laurie quickly tired of being asked, 'What kind of Ferrari is that?' So in the early 1980's he changed the color to British-American Racing Green, i.e. BRG with a bit of metal flake added. No one has asked the Ferrari question since.
This Hagemann Racing Special (commonly called the Hagemann Jaguar or Hagemann GMC Special) was constructed in 1955 using a ladder frame and clothed in an attractive aluminum body. It was built by Babe Sulprizio and Jack Hagemann in Hayward, California with Sulprizio constructing the ladder frame from steel tubing while Hagemann created the body. Sulprizio was the co-owner of United Engineering & Machine and he desperately wanted to own and race a Jaguar C-Type. The problem was they were extremely rare and carried a price tag well out of the means of most individuals. Instead, Sulprizio created his own version of the C-Type, and it would eventually become known as the Sulprizio-Hagermann GMC Special.
The front and rear suspension setup was from a Jaguar MK VII and modified to meet the demands of racing. Disc brakes were placed on all four corners and a Morris Minor rack-and-pinon steering setup was used to guide the vehicle.
Mounted under the bonnet was a GMC six-cylinder engine that displaced 302 cubic-inches and matted to a Moss four-speed manual gearbox.
The resulting vehicle had many similarities to the C-Type, both in design and in mechanical components. It was painted red but later changed to British racing green to avoid the 'Is that a Ferrari?' question.
The car is now powered by a Jaguar engine and is continues its racing pedigree in vintage events.
By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2009
blog comments powered by DisqusThe front and rear suspension setup was from a Jaguar MK VII and modified to meet the demands of racing. Disc brakes were placed on all four corners and a Morris Minor rack-and-pinon steering setup was used to guide the vehicle.
Mounted under the bonnet was a GMC six-cylinder engine that displaced 302 cubic-inches and matted to a Moss four-speed manual gearbox.
The resulting vehicle had many similarities to the C-Type, both in design and in mechanical components. It was painted red but later changed to British racing green to avoid the 'Is that a Ferrari?' question.
The car is now powered by a Jaguar engine and is continues its racing pedigree in vintage events.
By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2009
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| Tags | |
| 3.4-liter, aluminum body, Can-AM, four-speed manual, 1955, 1955 Hagemann, GMC Special | |
| Hagemann: 1951-1960 |
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