Foose flying visit

Chip Foose, the legendary American automotive designer and star of the reality TV series Overhaulin, was back in Australia in recent days. It was a quick trip to check out the Gosford Classic Car Museum on the NSW Central Coast and to take in the Bathurst 1000.

“I’ve had a fabulous time here. Bathurst was phenomenal! Beyond all my expectations. I hope to come back again. The passion and the fight, the want to win that race was so evident. It was exciting to watch,” he enthused.

Foose presented the third place trophy on the podium to DJR Team Penske’s Fabian Coulthard and Tony D’Alberto and spent time in various garages over the Bathurst weekend. He clearly likes our unique Supercars formula.

“Well they still represent the production vehicle. When you look at them you know what you’re looking at. I think that’s the problem we have in America with the NASCARs.

They’re all the identical chassis….the body and everything else. They’re putting stickers on them to say that it’s a Chevy a Ford or whatever. It’s not like what you have here. The authentic car that has been setup for racing”.

The Gosford Classic Car Museum, about one hour north of Sydney, has around 450 cars and bikes on display and the $70 million collection includes plenty of vehicles for sale.

Foose was treated to a big reception there too and although he couldn’t stay for long, one particular car caught his eye.

“From what I saw. What a museum! I didn’t get to walk around for too long because we had to get to Bathurst but they had a Foose ’69 Camaro there. You know I had an agreement with a company called Unique Performance. One of only eight cars that were built was sitting there. So when I saw the sign I said so everything’s for sale? How much for this one? $330,000. Well I can’t afford this right now… my wife would kill me,” he said with a laugh.

While unique Australian-made cars are now a thing of the past, the 53 year old native Californian has great admiration for our local cars and is keen to get one in his shop in Huntington Beach. He knows it would standout in the crowd back home with its distinctive styling and he’d use it regularly.

“Well I actually want to look into the Ute. The Holden Ute. I would love to get one of those as my daily driver in California. I don’t know what I would have to go through, or if I could even bring it into the States, but seeing the drivers going round the track at Mount Panorama (in the pre-race parade) in a couple that had been modified….I’m in love,” he revealed.

Conversation with Foose is easy. He oozes passion, something he developed at a young age. He learned to draw cars as a 7 year old and followed in his father’s footsteps, painting his first body shell (a Porsche 356) in dad’s shop, Project Design, in Santa Barbara, when he turned 12. He’s never looked back.

While the automotive landscape may be changing rapidly, Foose reckons fears about freeways full of bland looking autonomous cars are unfounded. No matter what the future holds, he is adamant customization will continue to be big business, even if we don’t drive as often.

“That’s like saying we’re going to get rid of fashion design because that’s what the automotive industry is. It is fashion. It’s people personalizing cars for their own likeness and what they enjoy. And even if the cars are autonomous I still think you’re gonna have customized autonomous vehicles. People will want their cars personalized so there’s still going to be a life of customization,” he told motoring.com.au.

Chip couldn’t stay Down Under for long. He’s currently building two cars for the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, which starts at the end of the month. So, when he touched down back in Los Angeles, it was straight into his regular ride, a completely unmodified, completely standard 2010 Ford F-150 Platinum for the drive down the coast to Foose Design in Huntington Beach.

If previous years are any guide the Foose cars in Vegas will be jaw-dropping head-turners.

Chip spoke to motoring.com.au reporter Greg Rust for a forthcoming podcast on all things automotive.
Greg Rust