By Dean Larson

Photos: Seller, Hemmings

Back in the early days of ReinCarNation, the Glasspar G2 was one of the first cars that really gripped me. More specifically, it was this exact G2 that grabbed my attention, and while the car has changed just a bit in the years since, its unique Ferrari-esque egg crate grille still gets me.

While it wasn’t the first, authorities on topic commonly recognize the Glasspar G2 as the start of the American fiberglass sports car era. Given that the car was repeatable (roughly 100 G2 bodies were built by Bill Tritt’s company in the early 1950s), reported on heavily by publications like Road & Track and that the G2 exhibited the sleek characteristics of a proper sports car, Tritt’s G2 can be seen as a figurehead for the movement, and Tritt himself, a latent automotive legend in America.

More than 70 years later, the G2 is still somewhat of a well-kept secret, as your average auto enthusiast will have never seen one. But these cars are gathering steam as organizations like Geoff Hacker’s Undiscovered Classics help get the word out, and auction prices reflect the trend. Last year at Amelia Island, we watched RM Sotheby’s hammer away a spectacular DeSoto-powered G2 for $109,200, and the spectacular Mameco-Ardun G2 made a huge splash at Pebble Beach in 2012, prompting an article in The New York Times.

Parting from these high-profile examples, the more sedate G2 seen here on Hemmings classifieds caught my attention between 2016 and 2017, when it was offered for sale on eBay. Its simple charm highlights everything awesome from America’s fiberglass sports car golden age, where a totally unique cars could be built from nothing more than average passenger car mechanicals, a fiberglass body and a little knowhow.

The sea of seamless white glass covers an early chassis, Ford if I remember correctly, with period-correct grunt from a flathead V8. The blue coolant hoses are an eye-catching addition, but everything else under the hood nails it for a low-buck, ’50s sports special. The flathead is dressed with Edmunds aluminum heads and topped with an Edelbrock twin-carb manifold. A homemade Lexan scoop covers the carburetor inlets and exhibits the perfect shape for its application.

The most notable feature on this G2 however, is the grille, which deviates significantly from standard. As stock, almost every G2 was fit with a one-piece cast unit that forms the G2’s telltale pointed nose. This example has been modified with a large oval opening and egg-crate grille that significantly changes the cars character. Emulating Ferraris and other exotics of the day, it works well, and makes this car too unique to miss.

Unfortunately for me, this Glasspar has moved on to bigger and better things. It currently resides in Kaltenberg, Germany, where it’s more than your average fiberglass classic. In 2018, the car was featured in a Swedish publication called Gasoline, which caters to classic American cars, trucks and bikes. Offered for $65,000 on Hemmings, the car is worth considerably more money in overseas markets. So with a bittersweet tip of the hat, I'll say goodbye to this one for now.