Art of the Classic Car

in the 1950s. More curved glass pieces were used to complete the
rest of the canopy-like greenhouse, which tops off a fuselage-shaped
body. The car’s two doors open with a trapezoidal mechanism, while
the side windows lift up like a bird’s wings.
The front fenders look at least somewhat conventional, but the
rear fenders are shaped somewhat like the fairings one would find
on the wheels of a streamlined propeller plane, and they taper into
a wide, flat tail. The tail’s three points, with scallops between, would
look at home on the Batmobile.
Under the car’s hood is the Hispano-Suiza H6B engine. An
inline-six of nearly 8 liters, it has overhead valves and produces 144
bhp (although some believe this car’s engine may be upgraded to
produce 200 bhp).
The car was hidden away during World War II; after surviving
the scourge of war, it reappeared in 1946. After passing through
the hands of the president of the French Hispano-Suiza club and
others, it was fully restored and shown at the 2000 Pebble Beach
Concours d’Elegance. It won Best of Show at the 2009 Goodwood
Festival of Speed.