Foose Coupe Revealed

With the constant media barrage of car, truck, and motorcycle building articles or television shows, it's easy to become numb to it all. After seeing the ninth ready-made crate engine dropped into an engine bay or the umpteenth employee argument over some glued on gee-gaw, the eyes can glaze over with boredom. Not yawning then becomes that much more difficult. About the same time one is about an inch or less away from deciding to pack it in on cars and take up model trains or stamp collecting comes along something so astounding as to completely restore enthusiasm for the fine art of building custom automobiles. A recent trip down to Foose Design world headquarters and then onto the Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters was such an event. At the end of the day we left filled with enough wonder to repel even the worst automotive kryptonite back into outer space for a long time.

Invitation Only
The occasion at hand was being invited to tag along as Chip Foose and George Gaffoglio of Metalcrafters welcomed car collector Roger Burgess. Roger was the proud auction winner of the Hemisfear Foose Coupe. As part of the deal Mr. Burgess would get a tour of both Foose Design and Metalcrafters then work with Chip and George to hash out the details in the construction of his particular coupe. The Foose Coupes will be hand built one at a time, and only 50 will be made. "Buying the Foose Coupe will be like buying a fine suit as it will be made to order," said George Gaffoglio, Chief Executive Officer of Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters. This suit will not come cheap. Around $300,000 is the current going rate.

Whirlwonder Tour
First stop on the tour was Foose Design World Headquarters. Chip Foose clearly enjoys his work, and has plenty of work in progress: a Morrison-chassis '54 Vette in the beginning stages in the paint booth; an upside down 'Cuda spun in work on a rotisserie. Under construction was a car with a Meyer-Drake DT160 engine in the middle of the chassis. Foose said, as it turns out, one of the only Drake engine specialists in the country has a shop right around the corner in Huntington Beach. Vintage Go Karts were hanging from the walls and an even older bumper car sat out front of Foose's office. Even '70s-era 'Vannin was represented by a flared fender and slot-mag-equipped Chevy example out front. The whirlwind Foose Design tour wrapped quickly and the caravan headed over to Fountain Valley, home of the Metalcrafters.

Design into Reality
Metalcrafters builds many of the concept cars seen on car show floors, and has been doing so since 1979. First stop was a trip to the design room. There the Hemisfear Foose Coupe spun about on a computer screen, showing details of every system and subsystem. Chassis and rear subframe. Coolant tubes running through a structural conduit. The central mounted radiator and how it gets air though low pressure air path venting. The body parts lowest to the ground are serviceable in case of ground contact or "damage," as Chip Foose himself interjected with a laugh. Working out the design of the car digitally using Catia V5 allows the various sub-assemblies of the car needed to be constructed individually for production assembly. The Foose Coupe is the end result of a design first penned when Chip Foose was still at Art Center College of Design in 1990. The Coupe was originally an exercise in niche market design for Chrysler. The concept has now become reality and is in limited production at the Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters and will be sold through Unique Performance.

Phenomenon
With every turn on the production floor came the wonder spoken of earlier. CNC machines churning out automotive jewelry. An entire building stuffed with Italian machinery and skilled craftsmen whose sole purpose is to manufacture custom glass for aerospace and automobiles. Complete and in progress concept cars appeared and disappeared. An autoclave the size of a Zeppelin stood in wait for the carbon fiber drag racing Funny Car bodies being assembled by hand. These bodies feature the strength to stand up to 300 mph and the untold aerodynamic forces that velocity creates, yet tip the scales at a mere 104 pounds. Wrapping up the tour was the dedicated shop where the Hemisfear Foose Coupes are assembled. The awe of the day was wrapped up in one phrase by Roger Burgess who stated simply, "This is phenomenal!"