Thought you '60s Show Car fans would be interested in this press release: American Dream Cars of the 1960s Take to the Fairway The Reactor will appear along with nine other one-off creations at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance this August PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (June 29, 2017) —Stargazers with dreams too big for a small town often pack their bags and head for one city: Hollywood. Legendary custom car builder Gene Winfield is a man who had very big dreams, but not for himself. His aspiration was to create a futuristic, aluminum-bodied custom automobile. “I put the car in an open trailer and I towed it straight to Hollywood,” said Winfield of Modesto, California, about his custom coupe, called The Reactor. Appearing at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in a special class for one-off American Dream Cars of the 1960s, the Reactor will uphold its celebrity status as both an iconic dream and significant character in some of the world’s most-remembered films and television shows. Winfield initially imagined and built The Reactor for Joe Kizis’ 1965 annual Autorama car show in Hartford, Connecticut. After its time spent touring back east, Winfield brought the Reactor back to California, where he entered it in the Grand National Roadster Show. Against tough competition, the Reactor won the coveted Tournament of Fame Award. Winfield soon realized even bigger dreams for his car. So, he packed up the Reactor and took it to Hollywood, where it captured the attention of leading filmmakers. “I didn’t know anybody,” Winfield recalled, “but I found 20th Century Fox Studios and I went up to the gate and conned them into letting me in to show my car to their transportation department. From there, the transportation coordinator gave me the names and addresses of all these other studios, and for two days, I took the car around and handed out my business card. Two weeks later, Bewitched called me and said that they wanted The Reactor on their set.” The Reactor starred in an episode of Bewitched called “The Super Car,” which was written to showcase the futuristic car’s exciting capabilities, like its hydro-pneumatic height adjustable suspension. It was also featured in an episode of Star Trek as the “Jupiter 8” and a Mission: Impossible episode called “The Freeze,” but it is perhaps best known for its appearance in the third and final season of the Batman television series, where it was the getaway car for Catwoman, played by actress Eartha Kitt. The car was created around a Citroën DS chassis and its unique hydro-pneumatic suspension so that it could move up and down, a feature that was far ahead of its time. “The inspiration I had for the car was to make something different, something wild,” Winfield said. He installed a 180-hp turbocharged engine from a Chevrolet Corvair Corsa, and paired it with the Citroën DS’s drivetrain. The Reactor was born as a two-seater, mid-engine car, with its most recognizable feature being its very low profile. Cleverly, Winfield used the Corvair flat-6 engine as a stylistic tool, because he wanted the Reactor to be as low and close to the ground as possible. Automobiles ranging from a DiDia once owned by Bobby Darin to a car powered by gyrodynamics will also be showcased in the American Dream Cars of the 1960s class. Additional cars include: 1960 DiDia 150 built for Bobby Darin 1962 Studebaker Sceptre Concept Coupe by Brooks Stevens 1963 Mantaray by Dean Jeffries 1963 XR6 Custom Roadster by LeRoi Tex Smith 1965 Bugatti T101C Roadster by Virgil Exner / Carrozzeria Ghia 1965 Pontiac Vivant Roadster by Herb Adams 1966 Bosley Mark II Interstate Coupe 1967 Gyro-X by Alex Tremulis 1969 Farago CF 428 Coupe by Paul Farago For more information on the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, or to purchase tickets for the 2017 Concours, go to www.pebblebeachconcours.net.
It took the Reactor 50 years to get from Merced to Carmel. That's 2.4 miles a year..... I'm so happy that Mr. Winfield was bestowed that honor.
Love the XR -6 since I was a youngster something about it just caught my interest. I seem to remember an article like a build thread in one of the car mags back then.
Here's some bitchin' studio photos of Winfield's Reactor: All images by Barry J. Holmes (for Automobile magazine)
Me too, final installment of the build had the XR6 on the cover of Hot Rod with a jet fighter behind it. Car lived here in Connecticut in the Barlow Collection for years, totally unrestored, it is in the Petersen now. Bob
I don't think that in his wildest imagination, that Tex would have ever thought that the XR6 would be featured on the lawn at Pebble Beach. A fitting tribute.
I believe it is the second AMBR Winner to make the Pebble Beach lawn, and the first that is unrestored. Bob
I wish I could be there this year - the Mantaray has been a favorite of mine since the early 1960's. Its amazing to see how small it is in the metal.
Here's the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance winners in Class R (American Dream Cars of the 1960s): 3rd Place - 1969 Farago CF 428 Carrozzeria Coggiola Coupe [owner: Frank Campanale, Orchard Lake, MI]: photographer unknown
2nd Place - 1966 Bosley Mark II Interstate Coupe [owner: Stephen & Kim Bruno, Boca Raton, FL]: photo credit: Richard Michael Owen photo credit: Nathan Leach-Proffer photographer unknown photographer unknown
1st Place - 1965 Pontiac Vivant Herb Adams Roadster [owner: Mark (@mrbhotrod) & Newie Brinker, Houston, TX): photo credit: Ollie Marriage photo credit: Nathan Leach-Proffer photographer unknown photographer unknown photo credit: © Kimball Studios
Dean Batchelor Trophy - 1967 Gyro-X Alex Tremulis Prototype [owner: Lane Motor Museum, Nashville, TN]: photographer unknown photographer unknown photographer unknown photo credit: still from MOTOR TREND live video stream
Steve (@gyronaut) Tremulis - Congrats on your uncle's design winning the prestigious Dean Batchelor Trophy !!! Although it's a bit out of scope for the H.A.M.B., perhaps you can fill us in on some of the history & details of the vehicle not covered in the Bizarre self-balancing 1967 Gyro-X car to be restored article?
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