So what can we expect in this class? Well, the first car starts in the 40s with a styling and design genius.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n
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1948\u00a0Tasco\u00a0Prototype\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The new class will feature the 1948 Tasco Prototype, designed by Gordon\u00a0Buehrig, being the designer of the Auburn 851 Speedster<\/a>, and his \u00a0\u201ccoffin-nose\u201d Cord 810\/812.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n He used\u00a0Tasco\u00a0as an acronym for ‘The American Sportscar Company’. His project was the result of following the trend of having aircraft-inspired automobile designs. It was the same year that tailfins were found on the Cadillacs, inspired by the P-38, and the same year that for the first time, sports cars were raced along the streets of Watkins Glen<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The intention was for\u00a0Tasco\u00a0to be part of the races that were usually joined by imported, pre-war car models.\u00a0Buehrig\u00a0went beyond having an aircraft-inspired exterior as he designed the two-seat cockpit with hand controls and a binnacle. The front wheels had individual, steerable fairings that are reminiscent of the 1932 Boeing P26 \u201cPeashooter\u201d fighter<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The\u00a0Tasco\u2019s contours had aviation perspectives when seen from both inside and out.\u00a0Buehrig\u00a0may have been inspired by the prewar\u00a0Coachcraft\/Stengel Ford and John\u00a0Tjaarda\u2019s\u00a0personal 1940 Lincoln Zephyr cabriolet as the\u00a0Tasco\u00a0was given a couple of transparent, lift-off roof panels.\u00a0 Buehrig\u00a0took the design one step further, however, as he made his design with a couple of removable transparent roof panels that were anchored to the solid center section.\u00a0\u00a0He had invented \u2013 and patented \u2013 the T-Top.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Two decades later, Chevrolet introduced the T-Top on their 1968 Corvette. It was then that\u00a0Buehrig\u00a0showed Chevrolet\u00a0that he has patented his \u201croof with movable parts\u201d under\u00a0US Patent # US2556062A (1951).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Buehrig\u00a0eventually belittled his own prototype stating that it was designed more by a \u201ccommittee of investors\u201d than by his own hands. The\u00a0Tasco\u00a0was built on a 1947 Mercury chassis<\/a> and engine and unfortunately never reached production, much less Watkins Glen. Its long hood and short cabin proportions are very similar to the classic pre-war European GTs.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n Mike Vetter states he has never completed a design course in his life but designed the Extraterrestrial ETV by hand in Florida and sells them to people tired of the usual proportions on automobiles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tasco-1948-1-1.jpg\")
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\r\n\r\n\r\n2008 Vetter Extra Terrestrial Vehicle\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n