1954 Sorrell-Manning Special

Offered by Auctions America | Santa Monica, California | July 18, 2015

Photo – Auctions America

Sorrell Engineering was a company based in Inglewood, California, in the 1950s and 1960s. Run by Bob Sorrell and his father, they fabricated bodies for a variety of different automobiles – all types of racing cars and even some show cars and customs.

Bob designed a sleek fiberglass body in 1953 that he fitted to a Kurtis Kraft chassis. He called it the SR-100 and he actually ended up building seven of them for customers. But the final one, this one, never made it into a customer’s hands. The chassis was built by Chuck Manning, an aerospace engineer who built customs and racing specials on the side.

Sorrell retained this car until his passing in 2003, despite numerous offers to buy. The car was restored by the current owners and is powered by a Chrysler Hemi V-8, which the whole body lifts up – funny car-style – to reveal. This car is known as the Sorrell-Manning Special, but it is also known as a 1954 Sorrell SR-100. It is expected to sell for between $175,000-$225,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $125,000.