My latest review over at Aleteia was for the latest video game adaptation to hit the big screen, Need For Speed. It’s probably the dumbest movie I’ve seen in theaters this year (and I’ve seen Pompeii), but I’ll admit, it’s got its fun parts as well. Still, if I’m must going to have to watch something with custom modified racing cars, I’d probably prefer it to be this…
The Munster Koach and Drag-u-la! Now those are some kustom kars I could go for. As it turns out, the Munster’s rides were built by the legendary George Barris and his crew, the same folks who cooked up other well known TV tanks such as the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty, Adam West’s Batmobile, & KITT from Nightrider, as well as notable B-Movie beaters such as The Car and Supervan.
Thinking about how iconic some of Barris’ designs are, it makes you wonder what he could do with something like the Popemobile. You know, there have been a lot of Popemobiles over the years, most of them made by Mercedes-Benz, starting in 1930 with a stretch version of the Nürburg 460…
…all the way to the current iteration, a modified M-Class SUV.
The latest version of the Popemobile is a true kustom kar, outfitted as it is with removable roofs, a throne-like backseat, a modified transmission designed especially for slow driving, full armor plating, and bullet-proof glass. With all that, I’m not really sure what Barris or any of the other kustomizers could do to improve the Popemobile. Maybe something like… well, tune in tomorrow and I might just have an idea or two.
2 comments:
I would love to see what Barris would come up with for a Popemobile. It would probably have two v12 engines, a lot of chrome pipes, and fins.
I've seen The Car (great film... basically Jaws on wheels), but Supervan is hard to find.
Well, I'm no Big daddy Roth, but I'll see what I can come up with for the Popemobile tomorrow.
As for Supervan, I nabbed a copy from somewhere years ago, but can't remember where. Definitely a niche movie.
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