The car hobby has many tropes, but one of the more common — and perhaps most accurate — is that our favored pastime is a disease, an incurable affliction. And as a corollary to that disease, we often further describe it as a “madness”. But perhaps nowhere is this description more apt, than when we’re referring to that rare breed of enthusiast (nee addict) that is so bitten by the bug that they are overcome with the desire to build their own car.
Now, when you think of this rarest automotive maverick, who comes to mind? Most likely its names like Ferruccio Lamborghini, Preston Tucker or John DeLorean. Men who had a burning fire to see their deepest automotive fantasy brought to life and manifested into physical form. And, while these visionaries did ultimately see their dreams through to fruition, they each had vast financial and engineering resources at their disposal to aid them in the construction of their unique creations. In short, yes, they had the fever… but did they have the madness?
