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1955 Hagemann Special GMC Roadster

    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-pinion 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 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 continues its racing pedigree in vintage events.

    By Daniel Vaughan | May 2019
    The Hagemann Jag Special was built from the ground up in 1955 by Babe Sulprizio in San Leandro, California. The tube frame was inspired by the C-Type Jag. Suspension and brakes were mostly Jaguar. Sulprizio built the chassis to take one of the new Chevy 265 V-8s but the local Chevrolet assembly plant in Oakland refused to sell him one without a car around it, so he installed a 302 GMC ('Jimmy') 6. After Jimmy failed in its first race, it was replaced by a 3.4-liter Jag DOHC power plant from an XK 120. The brakes were originally drums, but after Laurie's first race in the car at Laguna Seca in 1976 (no brakes by the sixth lap), they were replaced with XK 150 discs. The suspension utilizes longitudinal torsion bars and the differential is located with a transverse torsion bar connected to one side of the chassis.

    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.

    No auction information available for this vehicle at this time.

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