1953 Glasspar G2 Roadster

In 1946, William Tritt was approached by his friend John Green, who asked him to build a boat from a still novel new material called Fiberglas, first invented in 1938. Tritt quickly embraced the glass fiber material for boat construction, and by 1950, along with two partners, he established Glasspar of Santa Anna, California. He built his first car in 1951, patterning it after the Jaguar XK120. Known as the Brooks Boxer, it was shown at the Los Angeles Motorama that year. Amid strong publicity, Tritt launched the Glasspar G-2 in 1952. According to the Smithsonian Institute, the Glasspar G-2 paved the way for today's kit car industry while pioneering the use of fiberglass in automobile construction.

Many cars were built by Glasspar, including the Kaiser-Darrin and Woodill Wildfire.

This 1953 Glasspar G-2 Roadster is the only one of the factory-assembled cars powered by a Cadillac engine and is the only factory-assembled car known to exist today. The car rides on Cadillac wire wheels. It underwent a ground-up restoration with Bill Tritt, founder of Glasspar, serving as a consultant. It features the original Stewart-Warner gauges and an engine-turned instrument panel signed by Bill Tritt.

Glasspar was the first company to produce fiberglass cars in quantity. Bill Tritt was a true pioneer in this industry and, in addition to the Glasspar, also built Kaiser Darrins, Woodills, and the Volvo P1900.

Although the majority of Glasspars were sold as kits, a number were sold as finished cars from the factory. Only one was powered by a large Cadillac V8. All-in-all, only 29 Glasspars are known to exist. Only 10 examples (such as this example) were factory-built by Glasspar.

Interestingly, in 1953 Glaspar also manufactured fiberglass bodies for the Kaiser-built Darrin convertible. The Glaspar Company also built bodies marketed under the Ascot brand name.