Up next in 10
A TEAM of maverick mechanics have completed an incredible transformation of a classic Rolls Royce once owned by eccentric British aristocrat, Lord Tredegar. Dubbed the Rolls Royce rat rod, the car takes its inspiration and design from traditional rat rods, which typically involve customising cars from the early 20th century. Mechanic Sam Hard, 29, from Farnham, Hampshire, headed up the team responsible for the audacious build, which proved a big hit at the recent SEMA car show in Las Vegas.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
In the end, what it boils down to is enjoying yourself and making people smart
0:07
I'm pretty sure at SEMA 2016, we did that one of the most craziest cars that anyone would dare to build
0:17
The conventional rat rod, two of the men that loves his Ferrari and Ladagini, they're just another rusty car on the road
0:24
We try to put our own interpretation on what a rat rod should be
0:28
You know, make it a royal rat rod. Royal Rackrodrod, or a Rouse Royce. You know, if you're going to wrap one of Rolls Royce, these bodies are aluminium, you can't make them rust anyway
0:35
So what can we do? We can put our own interpretation on it. Big engine, exposed welds, cut the roof down, original seats, original steering box, original grill, original body panels
0:45
We didn't put any paint on it. You know, same with the Rack Rod style. But we're just here to have fun
0:51
This incredible Rackrod began as a 1936 Rolls-Royce. It was created by an international team, increasingly
0:58
including Sam Hard. Where we got the inspiration from building the Rolls Roy's Ratrod was actually at Seema in 2015
1:06
I was there helping a friend of mine build a car for Seema. At the time I had a few 2 million 118s and I was talking to a few celebrities and I pretty much put my foot in it
1:17
Sam had entered himself with his team into a competition to build a rat rod to show at the following year's Seema event
1:25
While the end design was a team effort, American Michael Lightbourne had the idea of using a Rolls-Royce
1:32
He sourced the car and convinced the owner to part with it
1:36
Sam and his dad Derrett helped raise sponsorship and sourced parts. And the customising work was carried out at Street Toys in Mexico by Jesse Gonzalez and his team
1:47
It's got LS6. I mean that engine's a briffin powerhouse. Big block Chevy
1:52
It got Hillbore fuel injection again That kicks up another 80 to 100 brake horsepower How fast can it go north to 60 I mean it kind of how big your Cajoners are is how to answer that question
2:03
I mean, it's just quite scary to actually put your foot down on a car. It's number one, got an aluminium frame, you don't want to twist it
2:09
even though it has been strengthened unbelievably well. I mean, this car probably weighs under, you know, a ton
2:15
And the power to weight ratio is something probably like a Ferrari. I mean, it's unbelievable. You put the foot down and it's actually quite scary to think that
2:22
are you actually going to stop because this thing is a freaking powerhouse. When the car's paperwork was sent to motoring writer Glyn Williams
2:32
he discovered that the Rolls-Royce had an interesting history. Through the chassis number, I found out
2:37
this was the first Rolls-Royce that Lord Fredegarde ever owned, and for it to be the most eccentric, crazy guy
2:44
known in the UK history, near royalty, friends with Hitler, you know, Winston Churchill
2:49
all these famous people, and now we just cut it up, and having some fun with it
2:53
I kind of feel that if Lord Treda Garl was here today, he'd be smiling too. With the build finished
2:59
it was time to take the car from Mexico to Las Vegas. When we took it to Seema
3:05
some of the best car builders in the world, Gene Winfield, you know, the guys from the Diesel Brothers
3:10
the guys from street outlaws, all these crazy, amazing people with unbelievable reputations
3:16
not only just for the building side of things, but even in the TV world
3:20
you know, a welder-up garage, a massive, massive rat-world builder garage in Las Vegas
3:24
These guys came out to the shop and they couldn't believe what we've done to the car
3:28
It was groundbreaking. It was unbelievable. After the success of this collaboration, the team is already looking ahead to Seema 2017
3:37
The car has already been bought. We're just trying to make it as crazy as we can and try to make some people scared
3:42
and maybe a little bit upset and try and make the majority of the car builders and the custom car world smart
3:47
2017 Seema, here we come
Expos & Conventions
Classic Vehicles
Motor Vehicles (By Type)
Vehicle Parts & Services
Vehicle Shows
Toys
Die-cast & Toy Vehicles
Custom & Performance Vehicles
Rolls-Royce
Vehicle Modification & Tuning
Motor Vehicles (By Brand)