Jalopnik
After the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, we needed a little recoup time, but yesterday we were back on the beat at the 2008 Detroit Autorama. We're just going to lay the smack down right away, the winner of the 2008 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award was a car we saw last year in the building stages - a Ferrari-engined Nash Rambler dubbed "Ferrambo". The bright red lightning rod of holy-shit-that's-crazy stood out pretty strong amidst this years Great 8 as the hands down, batshit craziest entry and we love the Autorama judges for giving it the nod.
The Ferrambo may not be the greatest name ever, but it serves up a stout 280 points on the Jalopnik scale, and for good reason. How many other tiny, bright red, two door station wagons with a mid-mounted 3.6 L V8 mill out of a Ferrari 360 Modena have you seen lately? Of Course it's stupidly well built, but the details are really what puts this car over the top. The builders at Divers Street Rods went so far as to swipe the Ferrari text and use it to call out the car's name everywhere it was tastefully necessary. Under hood there is custom fitted leather luggage instead of the original wimpy inline 6. The the seats are custom covered buckets and the rear seats... there are no rear seats, only engine. Here's something really cool, the rear windows rotate about 5 degrees open with the turn of the ignition to provide a little venting for that beastly engine. Yes indeed, Troy Trepanier may have had a cool car with last years winner, First Love, but this year's winner is a hell of a lot more Jalopnik in our book. Divers Street Rods
Comments
Still have to modify it in case one needs to carry a few cases of shine to K-Town.
... speechless...
It's a ferrari-driven rear engined wagon.
But.
That paint job! Those rims! The chromed steering wheel! What is *wrong* with you people!
VW type 3 square back with the parcel shelf wasn't a good idea when those hippies died of CO poisoning. Is it a better idea to drop 75k to gas yourself?
oK... I'll be the first to mention a flat black paint job.
It's trailer trash ugly.
@smokeydog001: Would that be "trugly?"
Damn, you think that is what old Ramblers dream about when they die?
@anaxomander:
Also, I'd *love* to see someone drop a modena-built mill into some old iron and actually *drive* it. No way this thing ever sees asphalt.
More show than go, but the detail and thought that went into this is awesome. I really like the Ferrari/Nash mash up of the front clip.
The gated shifter is still teh sex. I want a "Just-Say-No-To-Flappy-Paddles" t-shirt.
Incredible details aside, this is just woefully ill-conceived. Why not a Ferrari powered John Deere with a combination thresher and 275 GTB4 grille as the front clip? Yuck.
The problem is that this concept is an elaborate joke executed to Pebble Beach standards. The value of the idea and the cost of the execution are off by an order of magnitude.
The fitted luggage is cool.
Looks a bit like a 250 GTE to me.
I would have gone with an aluminum space frame chassis. I'm sure that would have been easy.
@Ben Wojdyla: "Troy Trepanier may have had a cool car with last years winner, First Love, but this year's winner is a hell of a lot more Jalopnik in our book"
What happened...you off your meds again? That thing is a joke.
So ridiculous it's funny.
If I were a supervillain, my henchmen would roll in that.
Yeah, it's all the things that the other commenters have said.... but it's not a '32 Ford or any derivative thereof. Bonus points for that, and to the judges.
I liked it way better in bare sheet metal and with the Ferrari 5-spokes, but I'm like a 1%'er when it comes to taste on the Jalop.
@Greg A.: That's freakin' BOSS.
Wagon Week just won't die...
@13oostedwgn: Seconded. Engine needs a plexiglass cover INSIDE the wagon.
@Greg A.: Amen! Preach it, brother!
@Greg A.: I totally agree.
@thatguy01: Sort of, but look at how much space it wastes. Plus it loses the opportunity to reveal front suspension details.
I also wish that the high-dollar execution had more imagination. It's essentially a Pro Street car with unbelievable quality. The interior especially gets a "meh" from me, and the paint doesn't enhance the lines of the car (such as they are).
@Ray Wert:
In polite society, where the honeysuckle and kudzu grow, it would be referred to as "tacky."
@Greg A.: Yeah, much better.
Kudos for the concept. A solid B- on the execution.
I especially loved the fitted luggage in the front. I have lots of respect for old Rambler Americans.
@htrodblder: That's a trick question-- the Rambler inline six never dies.
And yes, this looks WAY better with the 360 Modena's five-spoke wheels and Scuderia shields on the fenders.
@Mad_Science: Kudzu is no way near polite, more like a ravenous beast.
@Greg A.: Throw a couple layers of clear coat on that and call 'er done.
@Greg A.: I love the bare steel bodywork. Get an even matt finish on the metal, clear coat it, and call it done.
The problem with the car in the bare steel version is that it's obvious that the wheels aren't well presented in the arches. The wheel arches need to be remade to visually center the wheels in the arch.
The painted version emphasizes that the car is a joke, so it's okay that the wheels don't fit correctly.
I thought this was lame until I saw the bare metal version with 5-spokes. Why did it have to go so wrong?
Interesting concept, but incredibly bad execution. Did they get those wheels at Discount Tire?
I'm really happy to hear about this - the guys from Diver's are awesome. I got to take a tour of their garage a while ago, and I saw this car in the early stages of production, in bare metal. The twisted shell of the Ferrari donor car was behind the garage. Apparently the owner let his teenage son borrow it on prom night, and although the driver survived, there was a 10mph speed limit sign stuck in the interior.
It's cool to see the "ferrambo" finished.
@TheTooth: Two words: Soda Blasting.
I hope they swapped the Rambler Six into the Ferrari, that'd be ultra cool.
And I think the bare metal version of this is awesome.
That's probably what Jesus would drive, if he was a hoon, which I'm sure he was.
i disagree, jesus would drive a v16 2cv
Autorama wasn't "all that and a bag of chips" this year. I do think that all of the AMC's should get a honourable mention though!
Looks like wax plastic.
Poor old Rambler looks a bit embarrassed. Looked much better naked than dressed up like a cheap hooker.
@Novaload:
I'm mixed, cheap hookers with c-section scars are not appealing at all, so sometimes dressed up is more appealing (not like I speak from experience). I'd love it to just be in bare sheetmetal as well or perhaps stainless steel a la Delorean.
@Greg A.: You aren't the only one who liked it better with bare metal and five spokes.
I love the bare metal version, but don't like the finished one much at all.
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