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The Mayan Magnum Is What Happens When an Aerospace Engineer Builds a GT Car

Beauty is relative, we can all agree on that. We can also agree on the fact that, despite being raised to believe that beauty is only skin deep, aesthetic considerations are still prevalent whenever we make a new purchase. This is one car for which they never mattered.
The Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean Ing 29 photos
Photo: BringATrailer / Oregon Motor Company
The Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean IngThe Mayan Magum is a home-build, one-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci-fi writer Dean Ing
This strange thing, now offered at auction on Bring a Trailer and described as the world’s ugliest puppy with a bad case of overbite and weepy bulging eyes, is a Mayan Magnum. That’s not the official description, but it’s definitely a very fitting one. It’s also irrelevant since the man who created it admitted way back in 1968 that “Beautiful is an adjective that will never apply to this GT.”

The Mayan Magnum is a one-off prototype built by aerospace engineer, Air Force veteran, and sci-fi author Dean Charles Ing. It’s not an American car per se, in the sense that it uses parts from other cars, but the overall result is. Ing best described it that year, in a four-page article in the print issue of Road and Track: his car was the answer to the question of “If an aerospace engineer decided to build a GT car, what would it be like?”

The Mayan Magnum comes with a face only a mother could love, as the saying goes, and that either makes it endearing or sparks repulsion in whoever is looking at it. It’s not a pretty car, and it was never meant as one: because Ing was looking to build the most aerodynamic, road legal car he could, he never paid as much as a modicum of attention to how it ended up looking. Strangely, the one-off has survived the passage of time and, now with the telling signs of it, is being auctioned off by the family. Ing passed away last summer and, with him, the desire to keep the Magnum in the family.

The Mayan Magum is a home\-build, one\-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci\-fi writer Dean Ing
Photo: BringATrailer / Oregon Motor Company
Influenced by European exotics, particularly the Maserati 450S Costin Coupe by Zagato and the Porsche-Glöckler 356 Coupe, this is actually the second iteration of the Magnum. Ing started the project in the late 1950s as a design exercise – and a very revolutionary one, if you consider this was the ‘50s. He never intended the car to go into production, but rather to prove that he could build “a proven, everyday performer” that would be lightweight, simple and durable, reliable and aerodynamic.

The first version of the Magnum borrowed the engine, transmission, suspension and brakes from Porsche, because they were quality components and, just as importantly, “tunable.” On top of the chassis, he put a fiberglass body that bore rivets of fiberglass that he had designed himself, and the total dry weight of the vehicle was of just 1,000 pounds (454 kg). By 1962, Ing understood that, despite all the work he’d put into the project, it was no more than the sum of good parts and failed as a whole.

The 1962 version, which is now being offered for sale, replaced the Porsche engine with a Chevrolet Corvair-sourced 2.4-liter flat-six mated to with a four-speed manual transaxle. Ing said that this engine had more torque, and consequently, he opted for the VW floorplan for his creation. To turn it into a rear-engined racing machine, he shaved as much weight as he could off it, including by removing anything that wasn’t necessary for it to stay road legal. For instance, the rearview mirror on the driver side is sunken into the fender, while the door handles are covered and locked. The front license plate was deemed an affront to aerodynamics, but it had to stay put in order for the car to stay on the road.

And stay it did. The listing notes that the odo reads 68,000 miles (109,435 km), but real mileage isn’t known. According to Ing, by 1962, the one-off had already proved its worth, withstanding “flogging by several competition drivers, weekend campingtrips over rutted mountain roads and other forms of torture.” The speedometer goes only to 80 mph (129 kph), but Ing said the Magnum was perfectly capable of an “honest” 85 mph (137 kph).

The Mayan Magum is a home\-build, one\-off GT by aerospace engineer and sci\-fi writer Dean Ing
Photo: BringATrailer / Oregon Motor Company
Work on the Magnum was never completed. For instance, Ing never got around to getting the gullwing doors to stay open on their own. Based on photos included with the listing, he never got around to doing basic maintenance on the thing, either, and it’s displaying signs of wear and tear, rust, and cracks. The brakes and tune-up components were serviced ahead of the sale on the platform, but it’s clear that the Mayan Magnum is, most and foremost, a challenging project.

Whoever is up for the task, which may end with the reward of owning and driving an obscure American vehicle, bidding is live as of the moment of press. It’s sitting at a hair over $3,800, which is a fraction over what the family asked in late 2020 when they first tried to sell it: $25,000.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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