Coupe
Chassis #: WA94173298
Sold for $60,500 at 2010 RM Auctions - Sports & Classics of Monterey.
Sold for $43,000 at 2012 Mecum - Monterey, CA.
For some, the ordinary is never enough. Custom cars have existed throughout the history of the automobile to provide unique transportation to people seeking relief from the mass-produced, often boring four-wheeled forms of the world's motorways. Whether chopped and channeled by a seasoned hot-rodder or elegantly rebodied by a skilled coachbuilder, the custom automobile has always been an icon of individuality.Often, these one-off wonders bear strong ties to the national automotive design cultures of their homelands. In Italy, where refinement, elegance, and style were key to the quintessentially Italian car, small carrozzerie crafted stunning bodies with seamless perfection. In the United States, custom shops tended toward the alteration of existing bodies to create new shapes that emphasized the fundamentals of American motoring: speed, power, and freedom. Builders and designers of different lands all had their own ideas on how to best approach the custom car, but everyone seemed to have a goal in common. All customizers, from around the world and throughout time, have sought to forge their emotions in sheet metal and to express themselves with the clarity afforded by a purpose-built automotive creation.Despite this common aspiration, there have been few well-known custom works to embrace elements of design from across the globe. One man, though, was able to create a vehicle that combined European grace and American attitude in a package that excited auto enthusiasts with its distinctive flair. His name was Jay Everett.
Everett may not have been a prolific car builder, but he had a talent for building and design in general that endowed all of his projects with inherent quality. He was responsible for the classic shape of the Michelob beer bottle, and developed pre-production models for the instantly recognizable Earnes molded chairs. After Everett grew 'tired of looking at lead barges,' he decided to construct an automobile that borrowed from the classics of European design while retaining its Yankee identity and strong ties to the American hot rod scene.
The Astra's European proportions notwithstanding, its copious metallic detailing and incorporation of a few existing auto parts, such as Chevrolet Fleetline rear glass and '52 Cadillac windscreen, gave it a distinct hot rod feel as well. Also imparting a taste of hard-hitting hot rod was the Astra's 303cid Rocket 88 Oldsmobile V8. This mill was linked to a Lincoln automatic transmission with overdrive, leading to a 1937 Ford tube axle.
Shelton, Chris. 'Building the Astra Coupe.' Rod & Custom (2009): Web. 14 Jan 2010..By Evan Acuña
1955 Astra Coupe Vehicle Profiles
Recent Vehicle Additions
Related Automotive News
1958 Targa Florio: Musso Commands the Heights
During the invasion of Sicily during the Second World War it would be the mountainous roads around the island that would pose the greatest hindrance to the advance of the British and American forces trying to breakthrough on their way, ultimately, to...
The Most Valuable Road-Going Car in Auction History Sells at RM Auctions' Historic $125,000,000 Monterey Sale
During a weekend sale that will surely go down in collector car auction history, RM grosses in excess of %24125,000,000 as a total of 120 vehicles cross the podium on the Monterey Peninsula, breaking the world record for the highest sales total for a...
1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spider Heads Incredible Night of Million-Dollar-Plus Sales at RM's Friday Monterey Auction
RM sets the tone for yet another fantastic Monterey auction by posting %2451,635,000 in sales during the first night of its two-day sale held during the Pebble Beach Concours dElegance motoring week
Highlights of the night included the ex-Jim Kimb...
1953 FERRARI 375 MM SPIDER LEADS LATEST HIGHLIGHTS FOR RM'S MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR MONTEREY SALE
RM Auctions secures a championship-winning 1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spider competition car for its flagship Monterey, California, sale, August 16–17, after single ownership for 45 years
Also announced are a 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, a...
Lincoln at Los Angeles Auto Show Press Days: Celebration of Its Past and Future As Brand Rolls Out Its Reinvention
The brand pays tribute to its heritage today, displaying seven of the most influential Lincoln designs
Thursday sees a display full of the all-new MKZ premium midsize sedan and MKZ Hybrid, the future of Lincoln, on the Lincoln stand
Lincoln launches...