Chip Foose first put colored pen to paper as a teenager while working for his father's company, Pro Design. Inspired by the heady fumes of teenage enthusiasm and the desire for automotive adventure, Chip embarked on a life-long road trip with stops at the Art Center-majoring in automotive product design-Asha Corporation, Stehrenburger Design, Baker Sportronics, and Hot Rods by Boyd before teaming with his wife to launch his own venture, Foose Design. While he certainly has made a name for himself in the auto industry and the SoCal custom scene, he achieved broader visibility in 2004, when TLC began airing Overhaulin', the show where Foose and his crew ambush the unsuspecting with righteous renovations of some classic clunkers
Chip's a busy man, but he's not all business. He took some time for himself to come up with what-if updates of venerable automobiles. One idea was this F-1 that dates circa the 21st century. Chip stretched the exaggerated curves of Ford's farm appliance into longer, gentler lines better suited to hauling urbane aspirations than hay. Big wheels and near-invisible, low-profile tires may wrestle with the ruts of a fallow field, but they would look great rolling through the long, winding driveways of our fertile imaginations
Chip designed this Bandwagon for Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony. It's a California dream born on paper, but it will never be borne by the street. That's because this project was never completed. We'll leave it to you to sort through the subtle textures of Chip's arrangement, but we'll call out a few of its hooks
The hood, cowl, and flipped rear fenders of a '48 growl as the front man for the Bandwagon. Meanwhile, the rear body and top skins from a '33-'34 strum an edgy rhythm softened slightly by the suburban-styled wood side paneling. The result is a heavy-metal remix of classic American iron.
If you want to learn more about Chip Foose, contact: Foose Design 17811 Sampson Ln., Huntington Beach, CA 92647 (714) 842-0880, www.foosedesign.com