The Red Hydra Coupe

My favorite hot rods and customs are those cars that have a subtly sinister edge to them. You know the type – they sit in a parking lot or at a car show and look as if they are challenging anything or anybody to fuck with them. In many ways, they have a super hero mystique to them… or, in the best of cases, a super villainous aura.

When I was a kid, I collected comic books and one of my absolute favorites was Captain America. As a WWII buff, Captain America spoke to me with his values along with his historical birth during war times. He was an honest-to-goodness war hero with the coolest counter-part in the history of comics – Red Skull. Good ole Red… The Nazi saboteur was an evil genius with the most sensational list of toys that any villain could ever hope for. And, by far, my favorite was his Red Hydra Coupe.

In the modern movie/interpretation of Captain America, the producers were challenged with creating a car that equalled the comic’s sinister looks and imagined sound. If you’ve seen the movie, you know they delivered in spades. They got famed auto designer Daniel Simon to pen up a concept and then built the car to his design using a truck chassis and a Ford V-8 for power. The end result is part Duesenberg, part Hot Rod, and all sinister. By plot, the car is 6-wheel drive, powered by a 16 cylinder fighter engine, and the fastest vehicle ever made. Never mind that it’s actually a roadster – this coupe rules my imagination.

Check it out:

Thanks for the tip Mr. Simon.