1956 Victress S1A Special - No Reserve

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1956 Victress S 1 A Special - No Reserve

No Reserve Auction.

Exclusivity. Be the first to bring a Victress S 1 A roadster home to your neck of the woods.

Only 20 known Victress roadsters exist and none are overseas - all are here in the USA.

The Victress sports car was the fastest sports car in the world in '53 when it set the record at Bonneville for sports cars at over 203 mph.

In '54 it was one of the lead cars in a Tony Curtis / Piper Laurie movie called “Johnny Dark. ”

Great vintage racing potential – you'll have the only Victress in the paddock at every event.

Read on to learn more…

Overview:

I've owned this Victress sports car since 2007.

The previous owner held the car in his collection for nearly 25 years.

The car has been in storage for the last few years here in Tampa. Florida.

It's in good shape for a “survivor” and has been shown at both a Concours d' Elegance event (Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance. California. 2008) as well as a major West Coast California Design exposition show.

In order to compete for top honors at a concours. it would need to be fully restored.

The paint needs to be redone an the car has sat for a few years and needs to be gone through mechanically - although it runs strong.

Additionally. if it were to be used as a vintage racer. it would need to be brought into competition standards and condition.

Classic Styling of Early American Sports Cars:

The Victress S 1 A had some of the nicest styling for its era.

Doc Boyce-Smith and Hugh Jorgensen were inspired by the 1948 Jaguar XK 120 as well as the classic 1939 BMW Mille Miglia “Buegelfalte” roadster.

Additional information about this heritage is provided in the links below.

Drivetrain / Chassis:

Custom-built tubular chassis built for speed and strength.

Original plans from '58 still exist and are retained with the car.

Specials of the ‘50 s often emphasize weight distribution as an overriding design factor. and the design of this car shows this well.

The Oldsmobile 350 V 8 engine (1969/1970) is positioned behind the front crossmember and lowered in the chassis as well.

This typifies the best approach to chassis design and engine placement for the era.

Vintage Racing Potential:

Few specials of the ‘50 s utilized custom built tube chassis. and these were often built by Frank Kurtis or designed and built by a talented fabricator and/or machine shop.

In this case. Dick Foster was an engineer and both designed and built his own tube chassis based on the best of designs available.

This Victress body is sound and Dick Foster's chassis was built for speed.

This car has great potential to become a vintage racer because of the chassis and the tilt front-end – it's very streetable too. Also you'll probably be the only one in the paddock with one.

Historical Information:

The Victress S 1 A was first offered in 1953-54 (a similar S 1 was first offered in 1952). and the Victress marque continued to be viable thru 1961.

At that time. the company was sold to Les and Joan Dawes of La Dawri Coachcraft. and the Victress S 1 A became the “Vixen” and available on the market thru 1965.

In August 1953. the Guy Mabee Victress Special. powered by a Chrysler hemi and built by Denny Larsen of California. became the “World's Fastest Sports Car” when it broke the world record at Bonneville at 203 mph.

In 1954. the movie “Johnny Dark” debuted starring Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie.

A Victress S 1 A was one of the featured cars. driven by Johnny Dark's (Tony Curtis) rival Duke Benson (Don Taylor) which skyrocketed the popularity of the Victress name from '54 onward.

Points of Note:

This is the only known Victress sports car where the car and its original builder are both still with us – 80 year old Dick Foster of California.

In addition. the original chassis drawings have been retained with the car. with original photos (slides) scanned from the Dick Foster collection.

This car also retains its original pink slip / title from California from 1956.

It's remarkable that the pink slip has survived. and is itself a true piece of history.

While there are many resources on the Forgotten Fiberglass website where you can learn more about important aspects of the Victress Sports Car. here are several links that will bring key pieces of information into focus for those interested in learning more about this car and its remarkable heritage:

Additional Detail:

Dick Foster Victress Special (Part 1. 2. 3):

forgottenfiberglass. com/?s=dick+foster+victress+reunited

Design Heritage: 1939 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Buegelfalte Roadster:

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=10868

Victress S 1 A at the Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d' Elegance (2011):

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=15733

Victress S 1 A at Amelia Island Concours d' Elegance (2010):

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=3254

Vintage Racing A Victress (Smaller Victress S 5 – 94” Wheelbase):

com/Porsches-Folder/Vintage Races 2003/Page 6. htm

djibnet. com/photo/pacific+raceways/1954-victress-jack-goffette- . html

Victress Brochures:

1954:

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=6164

1955:

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=17138

Kurtis Chassis Information:

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=17260

All Stories Related To Victress on Forgotten Fiberglass:

forgottenfiberglass. com/?cat=30

All Stories Related to Victress on Hemmings Online:

hemmings. com/?s=victress

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Famous Victress Sports and Race Cars:

* Guy Mabee Special:

jalopyjournal. com/?p=1248

jalopyjournal. com/?p=1332

* Johnny Dark / Hellings Victress:

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=8224

* Steve Steers Victress (Recent article in May 2011 Hemmings Muscle Machines):

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=16956

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Recent Events that Focused on Vintage Fiberglass Sports Cars:

* Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d' Elegance. 2011 – Feature Marque for This Event

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=14572

* Amelia Island Concours D' Elegance. 2010 – Featured Class

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=3130

* Petersen Automotive Exhibit: Fantasies in Fiberglass. 2010 – Featured Event for 6 months

forgottenfiberglass. com/?p=4421

* Palo Alto Concours d' Elegance. 2008 – Featured Class

* Amelia Island Concours d' Elegance. 2007 – Featured Class

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Investment Potential

American handcrafted sports cars are on the cutting edge of investment potential across the country.

In August. 2013. the Milwaukee Masterpiece featured fiberglass specials as part of their featured class for the concours of "Handcrafted Specials:"

forgottenfiberglass. com/event-coverage/handcrafted-specials-featured-at-the-milwaukee-masterpiece-concours-delegance-august-24-25-2013/

Most recently. Old Cars Weekly (October 3. 2013) shared auction results from Louisiana showing a restored Glasspar G 2 selling for $100. 00 - see photos below.

And now. just this week. American fiberglass specials are being recognized and shown at the Hemmings Concours d'Elegance (the event is Sunday. September 29 th. 2013):

hemmings. com/index. php/2013/09/20/fiberglass-specials-of-the-fifties-featured-at-hemmings-concours-delegance/

We are just at the beginning of postwar handcrafted sports cars being recognized by collectors. museums and significant concours across America.

As interest and awareness increases. the desire to own and show these special automobiles will affect what car enthusiasts seek as well as their associated value.

Happy Bidding.

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Note: This car is locally advertised and the seller reserves the right to end the auction at any time as a result of a local sale.

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