1934 Edsel Ford Model 40 Special Speedster | Reimagined | Bruce Wanta

On display at the Lemay Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington is this 1934 Edsel Ford's Model 40 Speedster recreation. This unique looking vehicle was originally home built in Italy by Dr. Riccardo Grasso as a homage to the prototype made for Edsel Ford. It was later completely reimagined by Troy Ladd at Hollywood Hotrods and features a Lincoln flathead V8 engine. The idea behind the original design for the Model 40 was requested by Edsel during his time serving as President of Ford Motor Company. He asked Ford's head designer Bob Gregorie to build him a custom «continental» roadster with limited production potential. Gregorie, with some help from Ford's aircraft team, fabricated a taper-tailed aluminum body mounted over a custom welded tubular shaped frame. The car ended up becoming one of Edsel Ford's personal vehicles and was unlike anything Ford had ever built. This car is currently on loan from Master Collector Bruce Wanta. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The original Model 40 Speedster info: Edsel B. Ford, President of Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan, asked his styling chief, Eugene T. “Bob” Gregorie, to build a “continental” roadster that could have limited production potential. Gregorie sketched alternatives and then built a 1/25th scale model that he tested in a small wind tunnel. Because of its 1934 Ford (also known as Model 40) origins, the roadster became known as the Model 40...