Are We Looking At the Bat Mobile? A Look at the Bugatti-Delahaye Hybrid 1

Someone’s going to Gotham City with these wheels. When Terry Cook, owner of Deco Rides in New Jersey, expressed his desire to create “something special”, we knew there were going to be snags along the way.

The owner of the company that generates bodies for Gen II Boattail Speedsters wanted something “along the lines” of a Delahaye and a Bugatti. This meant that the project was going to be extremely expensive. Second, Cook didn’t want to cut an original.

What Cook did was to work from one of the composite bodies he already had. Then, he modified the details radically to incorporate the design ideas (already belonging to past cars) in his “vision”. While the core body was created by cook and Chip Foose some eight years ago, a lot of other design details were drawn from classic automobiles.

For example, the enclosed pontoon fenders in the body were notably drawn from a 30s Delahaye. The grille of the vehicle is also a chopped replica of the Type 57 line. Right on top of the radiator, you will also find a replica of the Hispano Suiza stork, while the vents on each rocker panel were steel-stamped and welded in to place.

Under the hood, the Bugnotti Type 57S Roadster carries a GM LSI V8 which is hooked to an automatic 4L60E. Under the boattail, the roadster sits on a Fat Man Fabrications Frame.

The most bizarre detail about the car is probably its profile’s asymmetry. Apparently, it has a pumpkin seed-shaped fender on one side and as stainless trim on the other. When asked why, Cook just said he loved both Bugatti designs, and since only one side of the car is seen at a time, he included both of them. Asymmetrical or not, though, this roadster is every modboy’s dream come true.