Although the Corvette is widely recognized as the first US sports car with a fiberglass body, many of Chevy’s contemporaries were also experimenting with this incredibly strong and lightweight material at the same time. We find such an example in Southern California marine architect Bill Tritt’s Glasspar G2 Roadster.
Sold as both a kit and/or a complete car, the Glasspar G2 chassis could accommodate almost any contemporary American V8 engine. The original buyer of the 1953 G2 that will hit the RM/Sotheby auction block in March, Emilio Pistoresi chose a DeSoto Hemi, which he paired with a 1940 Ford transmission and rear axle.
Pistoresi’s G2 remained within the family until 2010, when it was bought, reassembled, and fully restored by automotive mastermind Gary Hatfield. As most classic car experts think there are only around 30 of this car in existence, this 1953 Glasspar G2 Roadster ranks among the very rarest of US automobiles.