Photo: Mecum
The past few weeks were times of great turmoil for car enthusiasts, collectors, and fans. That's because auction house Mecum was about to hold its annual (and huge) Indianapolis event, the place to be for rich folk in the market for a new, wheeled collector's item. This past weekend, the auction ended, and for some sellers and buyers, it was a true blast.
Not long ago we brought you news of a rare piece of engineering going under the hammer. I'm talking about one-of-just-five ever made Chip Foose Hemisfears, which was sent to Indianapolis with hopes of fetching as much as $350,000. It didn't quite get there, but was close enough for everyone not the feel or notice the difference.
The Hemisfear is the trademark Foose vehicle, the "culmination of a 16-year personal dream" that first manifested itself while the man was still a student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. It is also one of the most insane hot rods you've ever seen, blending in one neat package a supercar, a custom car, and a hot rod.
First shown as a pair at the SEMA event in 2006, as a pre-production and first production version, the Hemisfear would grow to become a very limited run of just five such cars, all of them assembled in a very short timeframe that year.
The one you're looking at now, the fourth in the series, wears the 2011 model year in its name because it's then when it was re-made, with the designer's approval. And by re-made I mostly mean refurbished, as nothing that was originally Foose on the car was not removed, only bettered.
Sporting an open wheel design, with a bubble canopy smack down in the middle of the body, the carbon fiber-bodied Hemisfear is powered by a rear-mounted 392ci HEMI engine running a five-speed manual transmission. Built by hand, the unit develops in this application 485 hp.
There is room for just two people inside, resting in two matching bucket seats. Should they turn to look back, a transparent shield allows a pretty good view at the HEMI.
As said, the 2011 Chip Foose Hemisfear landed almost on target, meaning it didn't quite sell for the highest estimate. It did go however for $313,500, and that's saying a lot about the value of this car.
We're not told who the new owner of the car is, or what the plans for it are. As it usually happens in this field of human activity, don't be surprised if we get to see it on an auction's lot somewhere once again, sometime soon. We will, of course, keep an eye out for it and let you know all about it.
The Hemisfear is the trademark Foose vehicle, the "culmination of a 16-year personal dream" that first manifested itself while the man was still a student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. It is also one of the most insane hot rods you've ever seen, blending in one neat package a supercar, a custom car, and a hot rod.
First shown as a pair at the SEMA event in 2006, as a pre-production and first production version, the Hemisfear would grow to become a very limited run of just five such cars, all of them assembled in a very short timeframe that year.
The one you're looking at now, the fourth in the series, wears the 2011 model year in its name because it's then when it was re-made, with the designer's approval. And by re-made I mostly mean refurbished, as nothing that was originally Foose on the car was not removed, only bettered.
Sporting an open wheel design, with a bubble canopy smack down in the middle of the body, the carbon fiber-bodied Hemisfear is powered by a rear-mounted 392ci HEMI engine running a five-speed manual transmission. Built by hand, the unit develops in this application 485 hp.
There is room for just two people inside, resting in two matching bucket seats. Should they turn to look back, a transparent shield allows a pretty good view at the HEMI.
As said, the 2011 Chip Foose Hemisfear landed almost on target, meaning it didn't quite sell for the highest estimate. It did go however for $313,500, and that's saying a lot about the value of this car.
We're not told who the new owner of the car is, or what the plans for it are. As it usually happens in this field of human activity, don't be surprised if we get to see it on an auction's lot somewhere once again, sometime soon. We will, of course, keep an eye out for it and let you know all about it.
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