Road & Track Called This Kit Car The World's Most Beautiful Sports Car And They Were Right

If you could design your ain car from nan crushed up, which cars would you return your inspiration from, and would nan extremity consequence look amended than each nan cars that inspired it? In 1955, Jim Byers of El Segundo, California group retired to creation his ain sports car, cribbing from nan champion sports cars of nan time from Italy and England. Two years later, nan SR-100 made nan screen of Road & Track's February issue (as shared by Undiscovered Classics) pinch nan cryptic words "WHAT IS IT?" printed underneath. In that issue, patient John Bond asked if nan car was nan astir beautiful point connected nan road. He must person believed it was, because he subsequently bought and built his ain to thrust around. The article concluded that nan car had "Truly a beautiful assemblage and 1 for which we foretell a awesome future." 

That early was possibly not rather arsenic awesome arsenic John Bond predicted, but nan exemplary was astir for a bit. Between 1955 and 1963, only an estimated 25 examples of nan Byers SR-100 roadster kit bodies were built successful handlaid fiberglass expanse (which tin besides recovered successful much caller affordable high-performance kits). That number conscionable hardly doubled successful nan years after, and while location were hundreds of different fiberglass kit cars successful nan era, nary look rather arsenic bully arsenic a vanished Byers. 

From each direction, you tin spot nan inspiration Byers took from his favourite European designs. The Road & Track article originates by saying nan car has "a small of Bertone, Farina, Vignale, and moreover Touring" in it. That's precocious praise, but not astatine each incorrect. Despite predating nan BMW 507, I think it besides carries a spot of that car pinch it. 

As these were each home-built machines, there's nary nonstop specification for what makes a Byers. Customers only had to take a philanthropist chassis pinch a wheelbase of 100 inches and a way width of nary much than 56 inches. A Buick Roadmaster aliases Nash Rambler would person worked perfectly, for example. The 1 featured successful nan video beneath is built connected a 1949 Ford sedan chassis pinch nan mediate chopped retired to shorten it to 100 inches, maintaining nan beforehand and rear leafage springs and drum brakes. It is besides powered by a 220 horsepower Chevrolet 265 cubic inch small-block V8. Hot-rodders and car shed hacks alike could put fundamentally thing they wanted to nether this beautiful bodywork. 

Although nan beauty of a Byers is mostly skin-deep, being mini and lightweight pinch a afloat fiberglass body, it benignant of didn't matter what chassis it rode on. Pop an American V8 successful a car that weighs little than 2,000 pounds and it's going to beryllium a speedy one. Because truthful fewer of these were built, they don't travel up for waste very often. A mates person sold connected Bring A Trailer over nan past decade, but I've ne'er moreover seen 1 of these successful person. And it's improbable you have, either, moreover if you managed to laic your eyes connected different exceptionally uncommon cars. There was an effort to get these kits started up successful accumulation again backmost successful 2018, paired pinch a modified Corvette chassis for amended handling and power, but nan institution folded earlier immoderate important inroads could beryllium made. 

What do you think, is it really nan astir beautiful car successful nan world, aliases do you deliberation you cognize 1 that looks better? Let's conflict it complete successful nan comments section.