Astra Coupe – 1955

The Astra Coupe is a stunning custom creation first completed in 1952. Built with aluminum panels on a tubular steel frame, the car was fabricated almost completely from the ground up. The workmanship is remarkable, with aluminum panels countersunk and then screwed or riveted to the frame. The hood alone is made of 16 separate pieces of aluminum, all seamlessly welded together. The powerplant is a 303 CID Oldsmobile Kettering V8, while the gearchange was operated by a modified column shifter which Everett adapted to operate as a floor change.

The car was built as a labor of love by a Jay Everett of Gardena, CA, who was just 25 years old when he showed the completed car at the 1953 Peterson Motorama. He was an industrial designer and modeler, and prototyped a number of seminal designs including Eames furniture, Polaroid camera bodies, and the Michelob beer bottle.