UC_Portolio_Book

61 Now, thanks to Hacker ’ s efforts, you can buy a brand - new Byers SR - 100 for the first time in over half a century. Hacker doesn ’ t exactly consider this new venture to be a get - rich - quick scheme. “ What drives me is not pure business logic -- it ’ s historical preservation, ” Hacker says. The SR - 100 is not Hacker ’ s first mold (that ’ d be the Bangert Manta Ray); counting the molds he ’ s commissioned as well as vintage molds he ’ s acquired, Hacker now has the hardware to resurrect six different out - of - production fiberglass specials. “ I don ’ t think anyone ’ s ever come out with six different molds for six different cars before. And you know why? Because they ’ re smarter than me." When it came to pulling new bodies for sale, the SR - 100 was the logical starting point. “ Why not choose one of the most admired designs? ” Hacker says, pointing to John Bond ’ s period assessment of the design. “ The question is, and the risk is, if I make a mold, would someone actually buy this design from the 1950s? And I think that ’ s a good question. No one ’ s ever done this. ” One of Hacker ’ s customers is East Hampton, New York ’ s John Ford. A lifelong car nut, Ford has previously owned Ferraris -- so he knows a thing or two about sports cars. “ But what I always wanted was an open car, and I couldn ’ t afford an open Ferrari because they were, you know, millions of dollars, ” he says. His quest for a sporty, fiberglass - bodied Devin put him in Hacker ’ s orbit. Ford then began a fruitless search for a vintage SR - 100. “ Then I thought suddenly, ‘ Why the hell don ’ t I just build one? ’ I went back to Geoff and asked, ‘ What if I build a Byers from scratch? ’ He said that my timing was absolutely perfect -- they were just getting underway. ” Right: The first new Byers SR - 100 body in over half a century, shown in bare fiberglass and draped over a stretched Corvette C3 chassis.