This is the Decimo Segundo, it’s an entirely unique hot rod that was hand-built in Sweden, and it’s powered by a one-of-one inline-12 cylinder engine. Only aluminium, stainless steel, copper, and leather are said to have been used in its construction.
Unusually for such an eye-catching build, there is almost no information on the Decimo Segundo available anywhere. That said, it’s now being offered for sale, so we’ve gathered everything we know about it below and provided a link to the listing.
Above Video: This episode from Motornörd is dedicated to the Decimo Segundo and to Sven Billred. It’s all in Swedish and there are no captions sadly (well, sadly for those of us whose Swedish is a little rusty), but it does offer a great look at the vehicle and you get to hear the engine running and see the car driving.
The Decimo Segundo – Built By Sven Billred
Decimo Segundo is a Spanish term that directly translates to “twelfth” in English, it was chosen rather fittingly as the name for the hot rod you see here – one of the most unusual we’ve ever had on Silodrome.
The car was built by renowned hot rod fabricator Sven Billred in Sweden – he started the project with a Volvo truck chassis. This chassis was chosen because it had both the strength and length that he needed to fit his engine of choice up front – a completely unique inline-12 cylinder unit.
Now while the listing doesn’t go into (literally any) detail about the engine, it seemed safe to assume it was built by joining two inline-six engines – in the images you can see a gap between cylinders six and seven that would seem to confirm this.
Fortunately the above turned out to be correct, with an Instagram listing about the car explaining that two 194 cubic inch (3.17 liter) Chevrolet “Stovebolt” inline-sixes were used, for a combined displacement of 388 cubic inches or 6.35 liters.
The engines were joined together via a chain drive setup off the crankshafts, and now they essentially operate as a single, very long, unit. Power output isn’t known but it can be estimated – the Stovebolt inline-six was good for 120 bhp at 4,400 rpm with 177 lb ft of torque, so two of them together may make somewhere in the region of 240 bhp and 354 lb ft – not bad numbers.
Power is sent back through a PG automatic transmission to the rear axle, and the Decimo Segundo has drum brakes front and rear. Inside you’ll find a spartan cabin, with aluminum seats that have minimal padding, woven carpeting on the floor, and a simple folding roof for weather protection.
It has solid axles front and rear, with a drop axle used up front, and all the bodywork is highly polished aluminum that was formed by hand. The engine has a non-crossflow head, with three carburetors, and eye-catching tubular exhaust headers with twelve pipes all leading into one.
The engines were joined together via a chain drive setup off the crankshafts, and now they essentially operate as a single, very long, unit. Power is estimated at 240 bhp and 354 lb ft of torque.
Though it may look like a rolling work of art, the Decimo Segundo is a fully-functioning car that can be driven on the road. It’s already won a number of awards at European automotive events, including a “Best Build” award at one of Sweden’s largest automotive events, judged by legendary California-based hot rod builder Troy Ladd.
The car is now being offered for sale out of Mellerud, Sweden with an asking price of €77,200, which works out to roughly $90,000 USD. If you’d like to read more about Decimo Segundo or make an offer you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Car & Classic
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.
