Mad Style - 2020 AXA Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance

Few people have heard of a Muntz Jet. Unsurprisingly, really, as less than 400 were built and the car was never sold outside North America. The car wasn’t even a ‘Muntz’ originally, having started life as the ‘Kurtis Sport’ built by Indy and Midget race car guru, Frank Kurtis.

After building around 20 copies of what was arguably America’s first sports car, Kurtis sold the design and tooling of his two-seat sports roadster to Earl ‘Mad Man’ Muntz in 1951. Muntz promptly stretched the wheelbase to make it a four-seater and swapped the aluminium body for steel panels, amongst other changes.

Having made a fortune selling televisions after World War II, Muntz thought he could profit from America’s post-War demand for cars, too. Alas, a very high price for the Jet (more than a Cadillac limousine in C1952 money) and no dealer network limited its impact. Switching production from California to Illinois, closer to the heart of the US auto industry, made little difference and the Jet ceased to be in 1954, with Muntz losing an estimated US$400,000 on the project.

While the Kurtis version featured a Ford V8, the first Jets produced by Muntz were powered by a 331ci Cadillac V8 engine. Later units, like this one, used older Lincoln flathead V8s.

Winner in the Pushing the Envelope class, this ’54 Jet was entered by well-known restorer and car-builder, Justin Hills, who stunned the Sydney Harbour Concours last year with his modified Jaguar XK120 Coupe.

While the exterior had been refurbished by Hills’ skilled hands, a noteworthy feature on this Jet was that the interior was completely original and in outstanding condition.