1952 Glasspar G2

History

William (Bill) Tritt founded Glasspar in 1947 with the purpose of building fiberglass boats. His background included training as a marine architect and he had worked for Douglass Aircraft during the Second World War. In 1947, he received a commission to design a racing sailboat for a friend named John Green, which he decided to construct from fiberglass.

Tritt designed what became the G-2 in 1949 as the body of a hot rod a friend was building. Fully embracing the new plastic material, by 1950, joined by two partners, he established Glasspar of Santa Anna, California. Their first car was completed in 1951, patterning it after the Jaguar XK120. Known as the Brooks Boxer, it was shown at the Los Angeles Motorama that year. A fiberglass resin manufacturer purchased one to use as a sales tool in the automotive industry.

Glasspar built approximately 100 G-2 cars through 1953 of which only 29 are known to remain in modern times. Most of the cars were sold as kits, although the factory assembled ten as complete vehicles. Glasspar became the first company to produce fiberglass cars in production quantities.

Other work completed by Glasspar included the manufacturing of Kaiser Darrins, Volvo P1900s, Woodill Wildfires, and others. The Glasspar was such a significant step in automotive history that the Smithsonian has added one to its permanent collection.