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Coachbuilt: Is the Anti-Hot Rod the New Hot Rod?

coachbuilt-dl-2-Dore-hetfield-aquarius As expected, this year’s Pomona Grand National Roadster Show featured the best in the way-out, the refined and the traditional. The custom ethos extended in every direction and from every angle. Highly finished and fabricated cars filled hall after hall, each one different and as impressive as the other. But there was one standout that drew an endless crowd around its slowly revolving turntable. Called Aquarius, it was the latest high-profile creation to materialize from the James Hetfield/ Rick Dore dreamworld. And the buzz around it was palpable. Still in bare metal and not entered for judging, the ’34 Packard coachbuilt custom stole the show. Perfectly hand-hammered metal, fluidly styled to suggest both elegance and speed caught the eye and wouldn’t let go. Dore, Hetfield, and Co. reached further back than the average Joe to launch this concept so far ahead - not to the dry lakes of California, or the design bureaus of Detroit, but to pre-war France. coachbuilt-dl-2-1937Cadillac by Hartmann The Deco Age was a transformative movement in design that re-imagined the physical shape of everything from locomotives to coffee makers. “Streamlining” was a common term used to describe the new objects being stylized by artists and designers eager to define a modern way of thinking about form. Deco flourished throughout the 1930’s and into the post-war era. In spite of the global misery dealt by the Great Depression, there were plenty of ultra-wealthy clients looking for the finest in everything available to them and money was no object. A style emerged in France combining modernism and blended streamlining. The “French Curve” body style electrified European automotive enthusiasts, with Figoni & Falaschi- bodied Delahayes and Talbot-Lagos leading the way. Princes, Maharajas, and Hollywood stars ordered top quality automotive chassis from manufacturers such as Bugatti, Rolls-Royce, Cadillac, Talbot-Lago, and then contacted custom coachbuilders and demanded their most beautiful and stylish one-off sheet metal creations aimed at elevating their status on the road and in the cities. coachbuilt-dl-jeb Elements of this extreme body style have always been present in the custom world, in mostly reduced forms. Fully-enclosed wheels, cut down and swept back windshields and hand-hammered body panels have long been created by hot-rod fabricators who have moved past the raw backyard beating of their early days. To chop a top correctly takes skill and experience. To section a body takes knowledge and an ability to organize divergent elements- contours, bodylines, etc.- into a smooth and integrated whole. But hand-hammering a complete body from sheet steel or aluminum over a wooden buck is something very few craftsmen have traditionally been able to achieve. coachbuilt-dl-2-Figoni-Falaschi Giuseppe Figoni was heavily influenced by all elements of the ‘30s Deco aesthetic. Pontooned speed planes were tearing up the skies at speeds not dreamt of even a few years prior. Records were being broken and re-broken every few months. Enclosed landing gear covers inspired the teardrop-shaped pontoon fenders (enveloppantes) and the overall elliptical profile of the cars. Called goutte d’eau, or teardrop, the silhouette implied power, speed and grace even while standing still. Wheels were fully enclosed and windshields were swept back for aerodynamic efficiency and styled much like the Duvall and Hallock type windshields used on dry lakes roadsters found halfway around the world in the American southwest. coachbuilt-dl-2-1938-talbot-lago-t150-c-lago-speciale-teardrop-coupe-side-view Photo Courtesy of RM Auctions The shape became known as the French Curve. Other coachbuilding companies such as, Chapron, Saoutchik, and Letourneur- Marchand created custom bodied luxury cars incorporating these styling cues for their wealthy clientele. Due to high cost and time involved - a single Figoni body is said to have taken 2100 hours to complete - very few of these exclusive rolling artworks were built and today are in the possession of only the richest of the rich. The custom motorcycle scene exploded over ten years ago, triggering a new maker movement that quickly engulfed the hot rod world and beyond. Creating something out of raw metal became something that mattered again. Instead of only a handful of true craftsmen dreaming, designing and fabricating, there are now countless eager and talented makers climbing quickly up the skill ladder. Traditional customs are being pushed to a degree of design, fit and finish never seen in our lifetime. Old methods, once nearly extinct, are back. coachbuilt-dl-2-dore-auburn Photo Courtesy of Rick Dore Customs Hetfield and Dore made a statement at the 2010 GNRS when they wheeled in their ’36 Auburn, Slow Burn. The intricate, flowing shape that was both Auburn and aeroflowing now suggests the direction the team would pursue in later projects. The standout at the 2013 GNRS was a restored two-seater ’48 Buick full streamliner built in in the late ‘40s by a mechanical engineer named Norman E. Timbs. The hand-built aluminum body with full rear enclosure couldn’t be ignored - and again, large crowds congregated around it all weekend long studying every flowing line. A year later Hetfield and Dore raised the bar, and raised it high. Teaming with coachbuilders Marcel and Luc De Lay, they stole the spotlight from every other contender with their Black Pearl, a fully fabricated custom based on a ’48 Jaguar and heavily influenced by the Delahaye/Deco masterpieces of the 1930’s. A traditional custom at heart with a Ford 302 under the hood, Plymouth gauge cluster in the dash, and only retaining the frame and running gear from the Jag, the Black Pearl succeeds in presenting itself as a fine motoring vehicle worthy of a prince - or rock star. coachbuilt-hollywood-hot-rods-mullholand-speedster-gnrs Photo Courtesy of Hollywood Hot Rods This year, Hetfield and Dore may have stolen the spotlight with their Aquarius ’34 Packard, but they weren’t alone as far as retro futurist coachbuilding customs are created. Hollywood Hot Rods displayed their Mulholland Speedster, an Eric Black-styled ’36 Packard that was completely coachbuilt and also in bare metal. Beautifully fabricated and featuring many French design cues, including fully enclosed rear wheels, the Mullholland Speedster will be an awards favorite anywhere it is displayed and a serious contender for Most Beautiful Roadster in 2016. coachbuilt-dl-2-Deco-Rides-Generation-2-Boattail-Speedster-Rear-Angle-1280x960 Photo Courtesy of Deco Rides Outside the buildings, Deco Rides displayed their Boattail Speedster, a lower-end non-coachbuilt fiberglass bodied custom designed in the French Curve teardrop style and looking like it should be speeding through the streets of Gotham City. coachbuilt-dl-2-rickdorecustoms1 Photo Courtesy of Rick Dore Customs Visual styling and fabrication techniques are continually in flux. The world of high-end custom automobiles always trickles it’s secrets and design sensibilities into other areas of the custom world. It’s not such a stretch to think that driveways and backyards will be cluttered with wooden bucks and sheets of steel and aluminum ready to feel the hammer. There are new Figonis and Saoutchiks sketching body shapes in their high school note books. The hot rod movement, born of stripping off fenders for maximum speed, might be experiencing a shift in the opposite direction. The further we push into the custom world, the more we realize that anything that can be visualized, can be created in metal - and there’s room for all of it.
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