What you see in this photo is a 1970 Amante GT, a fiberglass custom created during the heyday of the kit car craze. This example is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and advertised here on Facebook Marketplace for $3,250. Many thanks to Ken Tully for the tip!

By the mid-sixties, the market for custom fiberglass sports cars seemed to be growing, with companies like Fiberfab leading the way. But in the turmoil that followed founder Bud Goodwin’s arrest and imprisonment for the shooting death of his wife (and company president) Jamaica, some Fiberfab employees were less than thrilled with the build quality of the products shipping from the Palo Alto company. Among these were plant manager John Hebler and John Ubina, head of fiberglass layup. Convinced they could build a better car, they left to form Hebina Plastics, launching the Gazelle in 1969.

The new company soon found itself in dire financial straits, and in 1970 it was bought by another Fiberfab alum, Bill Voegele. Changing the name of the company to Voegele Industries, Bill introduced a number of changes to the car as well. A roll bar was added, as well as steel tubing in the doors, to increase structural rigidity. New body options were offered: for example, there were three different choices for the rear hatch of the car. Initially, the color for the bodies was mixed into the resin, eliminating the need for paint. This was discontinued due to expense and customer complaints that keeping the body pristine through shipping and assembly was needlessly difficult. But what really set the car apart from its competitors was the type of resin used. The Amante was manufactured with isophthalic resin, rather than the more common (and cheaper) orthothalic resin. This produced a much stronger fiberglass, improving the structural integrity of the car.

Made to fit on the ever-popular Volkswagen Beetle chassis, the Amante GT could be powered by a variety of engines. The literature accompanying the kit suggested a Corvair engine, though the one displayed at the 1970 New York International Auto Show was powered by a Chevy V8. This one comes with a 1600cc Volkswagen powerplant. The new owner will be spared the task of sorting out the chassis, since this appears to be complete and rust-free. All that remains is to complete this custom sports car as the driver sees fit. As one of about 150 produced, it’ll be sure to get looks wherever it goes!