This is a 1959 Bocar XP-7R, it’s one of the fastest and most powerful Bocar models ever made, thanks in large part to its supercharged, fuel-injected Corvette V8.
This particular car benefits from a restoration, and it looks to be one of the best-presented Bocars we’ve ever featured here on Silodrome. These are low-volume American sports cars that only rarely come up for sale – but they attract a lot of attention when they do.
Fast Facts: The Bocar XP-7R
- The Bocar XP-7R was the final evolution of Bob Carnes’s hand-built sports racers from Lakewood, Colorado, and only three supercharged XP-7R examples were made. It used a tubular chromoly frame, a lightweight fiberglass body, and a Chevrolet V8 modified with a Potvin-mounted GMC 4-71 supercharger and Rochester fuel injection for around 400 bhp.
- This car, chassis 003, was restored in the 1990s by McCabe Automotive Restoration and later participated three times in the Colorado Grand rally during a lengthy period of private ownership. In 2023, it received additional refurbishment that included new fiberglass work, fresh red paint, and a rebuilt fuel-injection system.
- The XP-7R keeps all of Bocar’s distinctive styling cues, including its wrap-around windshield, canted quad headlights under Lexan covers, and headrest aero fairing. It rides on 16 inch Borrani wire wheels with Dunlop Racing tires and uses ventilated disc brakes with blue calipers and a dual-master-cylinder system.
- Inside it has a red leather cockpit with blue bolsters and yellow seat embroidery, with Stewart-Warner gauges, a Hurst shifter, and a split-wood steering wheel. It’s currently being offered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with detailed documentation and a clean Montana title.
History Speedrun: The 1959 Bocar XP-7R
When he set out to start his own sports racing car company, Bob Carnes opted to simply use some of the letters from his own first and last name to create a unique and memorable one-word name Bocar (Bob Carnes).
This is a 1959 Bocar XP-7R, it’s one of the fastest and most powerful Bocar models, thanks to its supercharged and fuel-injected Corvette V8.
Bob was a semi-professional racing driver based out of Lakewood, Colorado who started out in a Glöckler-Porsche Spyder competing in local Colorado hill climbs and road races. He upgraded to a Jaguar XK120 in 1953 and took an impressive 3rd place at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb that year.
Although the XK120 was a significantly quicker car than the Glöckler-Porsche, Carnes was unhappy with the amount of power he was getting from the 3.4 liter Jaguar XK straight-six.
Much to the chagrin of the purists he removed the original engine and installed a Cadillac V8, renaming the car “Jagillac”, then justifying the engine transplant by winning the Buffalo Bill Hillclimb in 1956.
Despite his success, Carnes wanted more from the car, and he quickly realised he would need to build his own car from the ground up. He began the Bocar project officially in 1957 and had his first car ready by 1958, it was called the X-1, and it was quickly followed by the X-2 and X-3.
Bob and his team were learning on their feet, and by the time they got to the X-4 they began selling cars to customers – approximately 5 X-4s were built – although exact factory records were lost to time.
The first proper production model was the Bocar XP-5. Bob and his team developed a new welded chromoly steel spaceframe for the car with a lightweight fiberglass body, the independent front suspension was creatively sourced from the rear end of the Volkswagen Beetle, and the rear sits on four trailing arms and a Watts linkage system.
This 1959 Bocar XP-7R, chassis 003, is one of just three supercharged examples that were built by Bob Carnes’s Bocar Manufacturing in Lakewood, Colorado.
Engines could be specified by the client, however the most common choice was the rock-solid 283 cubic inch Corvette V8 capable of 290 bhp. The XP-5 sits just 34 inches tall – not including the 4 inch windshield, and the engine was installed as far back in the body as possible to provide optimal weight distribution for racing.
After 15 or so examples of the XP-5 had been built attention shifted to the XP-6. This was a longer wheelbase design at 104 inch (2,600 mm) and it was powered by a supercharged Corvette engine which was reportedly good for near on 400 bhp.
The final cars developed in the XP series were the XP-7 variants. The XP-7 was, for all intents and purposes, the same as the XP-6 except for the fact that the engine was naturally-aspirated, and it had a larger grill opening . The XP-7 followed soon after and it was essentially the same as the XP-7, but it had the supercharger fitted for a healthy power boost.
The 1959 Bocar XP-7R Shown Here
This 1959 Bocar XP-7R, chassis 003, is one of just three supercharged examples that were built by Bob Carnes’s Bocar Manufacturing in Lakewood, Colorado. The car underwent a full restoration in the 1990s at McCabe Automotive Restoration and later saw use in the Colorado Grand rally three times under long-term ownership.
After changing hands twice more, it was purchased by its current owner in 2023, who commissioned additional remedial work to the fiberglass body, fresh red paint, and a new fuel-delivery system. The XP-7R has since been maintained at ArrowLane in Scottsdale and won a class award at the 2024 Arizona Concours d’Elegance.
Chassis 003 still has its tubular steel frame and lightweight fiberglass shell, with those signature canted quad headlights beneath Lexan covers, as well as a wrap-around windshield, and a prominent headrest fairing.
It rides on 16 inch Borrani wire wheels, with Dunlop Racing tires, and it’s equipped with ventilated disc brakes, blue calipers, and a dual-master-cylinder setup. The interior follows the car’s overall color theme – with red leather with blue bolsters, yellow embroidered seatbacks, and square-weave carpeting – complemented by Stewart-Warner gauges, a Hurst shifter, and a split-wood steering wheel.
Power is provided by a 355 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 topped with a Potvin-mounted GMC 4-71 supercharger and Rochester fuel injection.
Power is provided by a 355 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 topped with a Potvin-mounted GMC 4-71 supercharger and Rochester fuel injection. The fuel-injection system was rebuilt in 2023, and the battery and various seals were renewed in 2024. A Muncie M22 4-speed manual box sends power to the rear axle, with suspension built around modified VW components and Koni coilovers.
The car is now being offered for sale out of Scottsdale, Arizona with correspondence and invoices dating back to the 1990s, refurbishment photos, and a clean Montana title. If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
