Hard on the heels of the LaDawri Daytona project car covered a few days ago, we have this much spiffier 1957 Victress C2 coupe, beautifully and correctly prepped as a vintage racer. It is available here on craigslist for $135,000. It is located in Greenville, South Carolina, but sports a California license plate in photos. It is also seen lounging around at Laguna Seca, and the seller notes it raced during the Monterey Historics. While the craigslist advertisement is brief, full details on the build can be found here where we also learn that it’s for sale due to the owner’s age and retirement. T.J., thanks for passing along this great find!
Victress Manufacturing was founded in 1952 by two college pals who saw a future in fiberglass. Their first car was based on European car designs, including the XK120, but its unique look quickly gained the Victress notoriety. It was featured in Hop-Up magazine and played a part in the film Johnny Dark. The addition of Merrill Powell to the company’s roster – he trained at the famous Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles – was instrumental to its success. It was Powell who designed the C2 and C3, both best sellers. This particular car was acquired as a barn find in Southern California. It was built to VARA rules, with a bored-out 283 cu. in. Chevy V8, custom cam, solid lifters, roller rockers, cross-ram intake, dual Holleys … you get the idea. Jaguar suspension, brake, and steering components, a Girling dual master set-up, and a Borg-Warner T-10 close-ratio four-speed round out the mechanicals. The fuel bladder was new in 2022.
If you’ve ever built a race car, you’ll know the process is time-consuming and costly, with the added complexity of following a certain set of rules. This car’s build should be acceptable to most vintage race organizations, perhaps with some updates applied. Its logbook accompanies the sale. And if the track isn’t your thing, head to the concours circuit – both Pebble Beach and Amelia Island have featured 1950s American fiberglass, including several Victress models.
I can’t decide if this car is appealing because the Victress C2 is such an attractive style, or if this particular example’s racing legacy is more exciting. Either way, the new owner will be in for many adventures – on or off track – albeit at a price. Have you ever seen another well-prepared fiberglass racer? Let us know in the comments.
Badass
Crazy cool car with a heckuva power plant under the hood and what appears to be a very sophisticated suspension mechanism for something built as a 1957 era car.
Has to be a heartbreaker to sell this piece of race archeology but it’s apparent the good times it provided can continue which is all anyone that appreciates it would really want for it.
GLWTS, and hopefully the new owner will keep the seller up to speed on how well it does in whatever venue they compete.
You’ve always got us on edge as to your next write up, Michelle. Keep it on our toes!
Cobra from the front, Ferrari from the rear. Beautiful
Interesting car, but not 135K interesting!
Sign me up. Neither writeup mentions actual racing history. If it did race back in the day, that would have a huge value impact here. Otherwise, it’s a vintage car with some legit history that “could have” been raced, but wasn’t.
Nevertheless, you’re getting Italian looks and AC Cobra performance with sane, serviceable mechanicals in a car that will make everyone take notice, while getting invited to the big boy shows.
I’d think $135,000 might be light if this gets in front of the right people.
I agree Bluesman! But Craigslist is not the place to list this car. BAT, EBAY, or one of the big auction houses. (Barret Jackson, etc.) Has to be a blast to drive!
Note to Jay Leno:
It’s available…
Is that a z28 dz intake manifold?
I would say exactly the opposite. When you look at the attention to detail, craftsmanship, fabrication, consider the parts sourcing and preparation… $135,000… is a SCREAMING bargain!!
Wow….another Barn Find we can’t afford…….
True. However, I’ve noticed that even the barn finds that are affordable draw comments such as “too far away”, “want it but no space”, “too rusty”, “I’m too old”…. I don’t mean to be cynical but we’ve written up countless cars that fall into the very lowest echelon of affordability, but they don’t sell. So I’ve decided to write up whatever I think is cool, historic, has a story, is unusual, or otherwise catches my attention, without regard to affordability. Folks can see the price right up in the first paragraph, and if a high price or condition eliminates the car from your pocketbook, skip it and find a cheaper prospect. There’s something for everyone here.
This car is interesting as hll. Thx
1000% dead on, Michelle, thanks for responding to a comment like this.
Keep the interesting stuff coming – I’m sure the majority of us here don’t come here for the price tag, we come here for the wealth of knowledge and variety that BF articles provide.
There used to be a site very similar to BF, called “Credit Card Classics”, or something like that. I think it was even run by Jesse and Josh, but I might be wrong about that. It featured affordable cars and was also an interesting site to visit daily – but that very narrow focus caused it to die off pretty quickly.
What do u mean,I,m too old,Michelle? You can,t say that on this site. You,ll alienate 99% of your readers.lol
Meant to be driven. Around a race track. At high speed. Wish I had 135k laying around. Sigh…