Of the cars I have had the good fortune to see in action during my life, there are a handful that have made an immediate and everlasting impact on me and the 1953 Studebaker build by Johnson’s Hot Rods going by the name “Stupidbaker” is one of them. This car was much talked about and seldom seen during its construction and when I was able to walk up to in on the salt, all the air literally left my body. The entire car is obviously hand crafted but the shapes were the stunning thing for me to see. It has some of the beautiful elements of 1920s and 1930s land speed race cars the like of which Malcom Cambpell and John Cobb drove. The long front end has so much wonderful stuff happening it is a wonder that the car has ever left a shop or garage, let one crested 228-mph on the salt with the plan being to knock 300 mph into the weeds during 2014.

A full tube chassis car with this amazing body draped over it, the Stupidbaker is classified as a Classic Gas Competition Coupe and 2013 was the first year for the car out on the salt. The team made 10 passes over the course of Speed Week and are taking an incremental approach to working the coupe up to the 300mph number which they have openly stated that they are looking for during Speed Week this year. We literally cannot stress how stunning this car is in person. From the fabrication to the flawless nature of the paint and the cleanliness of how the whole thing was finished off. There’s not a hair out of place on this thing and we’re sure hoping that the beautiful car is capable of reaching and exceeding all of the team’s goals.

Of course, one super important element in that equation is aerodynamics and as you will see, the air looks pretty nice rolling over this car. The video below was made in the A2 Wind Tunnel and you can watch the smoke roll over and around the car to get a visual of what the air “looks like” as it travels through , over or under. Pay attention to the hood and the windshield. There’s some interesting stuff happening in that area of the car for sure.

If you have never seen Stupidbaker up close, this is a great chance to get a look at how bodacious this car really is. They’ll need all the horsepower they can get and as much help from the body as they can, to boot. We’ll be at Bonneville this year and we’ll be listening intently to hear if the team can bust into the three century club!

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THE STUPIDBAKER GO THOUGH WIND TUNNEL TESTING AT THE A2 WIND TUNNEL