1962 Davies Special
Offered by Bonhams | Francorchamps, Belgium | May 25, 2013
Can-Am was one of the most interesting race series ever devised. The rules were essentially “anything goes” when it came to car construction – something that leads to innovation, unlike most of the “spec” series that operate in the U.S. today. The lot description calls this a “Cam-Am” Special but Can-Am didn’t start until 1966. This car was likely intended for the USRRC, which was also innovative and interesting.
Fred Davies was a race car engineer who worked for Bill Sadler (who built cars that looked similar to this in Canada). In 1961 he left Sadler and moved to California to build cars under his own name and design. He built one car – this one – with the intention of entering it into American road races.
The engine is a Chevrolet V-8 (displacement unknown, although I know it’s big) and the body is aluminum. The gearbox is by Huffaker – a name heavily associated with road racing back in the day. But Davies never ended up racing it. In fact, he used is as a road car for a few years before parking it. In 1975 he sold it to a dealer overseas who sold it three years later to a Belgian – who had no idea what it was. He registered it with the FIA as a Huffaker Genie – a car it resembles.
He restored it once and raced it until he sold it in 1983 to a Swedish amateur driver. It was raced in Sweden until 2004 when the current Belgian owner acquired it. This is a one-off race car and the only “Davies” out there. It is entirely raceable and can be yours for $120,000-$160,000. Click here for more and here for more from Bonhams at Spa.
