Click the link to see a newer article on the Bocar XP-5.
In 1959 a man named Bob Carnes (Bo-Car) started building utterly insane American racing cars, this is the Bocar XP-5 and is a fine example of his work, it was also the most popular of his designs. Bob used modified Corvette 283 engines with the motor in this car producing a staggering 450hp, and remember, this is in 1959.
Bocar XP-5s set a number of speed records, won a slew of SCCA events nation-wide during the ’60s and raced in the first ever televised Daytona race in 1960.
Weighing just 1,650lbs the power to weight ratio equates to about 6 lbs per hp, giving the XP-5 a 0-60mph time of ~6 seconds, a 1/4 mile speed of 100mph and a top speed in excess of 160mph. These specs would be impressive in a modern sports car, let alone a hand-built 52 year old racer.
This is prototype chassis #001, making it an exceedingly rare and collectible vintage roadster, the car is currently living in Bridgeport, Connecticut and is listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $300,000 USD (the bidding is currently at $225,000 USD).
Articles that Ben 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.
