t doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, but it was! The “Boydster” captured the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award at the 1996 Grand National Roadster Show (Oakland). Boyd Coddington was a hot rodder with a keen eye for what was “cool” and where to find talent. The Boydster was the sixth of nine AMBR awards Boyd carried home.

Many great fabricators, body and paint pros, and designers have passed through Boyd’s portal. This month’s Parting Shot subject is the original Boydster, designed by Chip Foose, based on a hand-fabricated concept body by the incredibly talented Marcel DeLey of Marcel’s Custom Metal. At the time of the GNRS, the Boydster was owned by John Clay Wolfe and Chip Foose. (Reports say that the car has been sold once again since the show.)

The “smoothy” look was coming into its own by then, with Fred Warren’s 1937 Ford coupe winning the Ridler in 1996. Several years earlier, in 1991, Tony Carlini’s 1933 Ford fenderless coupe won the Ridler. If my memories serve me, Boyd wanted the Boydster as his personal hot rod, and since Foose was working for him at the time, Foose took the timeless and time-honored 1932 Ford roadster that he and Foose envisioned that to enhance the “long, lean, and low” look it should be stretched 3 inches, lowered, and smoothed out to a level the hot rod world hadn’t heretofore seen. The chassis was built at Boyd’s shop and featured fully independent front and rear suspension with a Corvette centersection and rack-and-pinion steering.

The body was built at Marcel’s (along with his sons, Marc and Luc), from aluminum, featuring solenoid-operated “suicide” doors and a striking one-piece wraparound windshield made from safety glass by California Glass Bending. A 1932 Ford grille was used but narrowed and sectioned to match the rest of the body’s styling cues. The unique taillight was made by Performance SC. Hot rodders love their “colors,” and Boyd came up with “Boyd Red,” mixed by DuPont and applied by Keith Russell. The roadster was painted and upholstered in a monochromatic scheme. As for the interior, it was upholstered in color-matched red leather by Gabe Lopez. If the wheels had been red and the suspension painted rather than chromed, the roadster would have been a true monochrome display.

It’s been nearly 30 years, and while the roadster is highly recognizable, the fact remains that it is a timeless design looking as good today as it looked futuristic all those years ago.