No, your eyes don’t deceive you – this really is a drivable pool table! Known as ‘Pool Hustler’, this V8 Hemi-engined show car by Steve Tansy is one of a trio of 1970s Californias specials that is going to be offered at Historics’ final auction of the year, held at Mercedes-Benz World on 29 November. All three reflect the period’s exuberant hot-rod culture, when West Coast customisers such as Bob Reisner, Steve Tansy and George Barris pushed design into ever more theatrical territory.
Tansy’s ‘Pool Hustler’ is was created in 1970, by mounting a full-size century-old pool table over a Hemi V8. Cue holders, pool-ball wheel caps and a cue-ball steering boss complete the package. Currently non-running but entirely intact, it remains a surreal artefact from the era.
Reisner’s ‘Sand Draggin’, believed to date from around 1970, channels the dune-buggy craze with startling conviction. Restored 15 years ago to its original specification, it features a 7.4-litre V8 quoted at roughly 670bhp – an improbable figure for something with the stance of a beach toy.
Completing the set is the 1971 ‘Sidewinder’ trike by George Barris, builder of the Munster Koach and the 1966 Batmobile. Powered by a transverse Buick V8 and riding on vast magnesium wheels sourced from a Douglas DC-6 airliner, it is said to have been used occasionally by Steve McQueen and even demonstrated by him at Indianapolis. It, too, is offered without reserve.
Historics has also secured two British curiosities: the six-wheel Wolfrace Sonic of 1981, built to promote Barry Treacy’s alloy-wheel brand; and ‘The Beast’, the notorious Paul Jameson/John Dodd creation powered by a 27-litre V12 Spitfire engine and now freshly restored – complete with Rolls-Royce grille – estimated at £75,000-£100,000.
To see the full lot list, full details available at historics.co.uk.
