In the spirit of our “Hot, Fast, and Nasty” cover theme, we’d be remiss to omit a nod to one of the fastest and nastiest rides of all time, the Cheetah. And it was unbearably hot, too, because the driver’s legs were right next to the exhaust headers of its 327 Corvette engine.

Designed by Bill Thomas as a Cobra killer, the car’s engine was set so far back, and the wheelbase was so short, that the output yoke of the transmission bolted directly to the input yoke on the diff, without any driveshaft. This configuration was in essence a mid-engine setup, in terms of weight distribution, but without using a transaxle.

Despite some decidedly unpredictable handling traits on road courses, few cars could catch the Cheetah on a dragstrip, including a 427 Cobra.

The green machine shown here was lovingly crafted by Ruth Restorations, using a body that precisely reproduces the original, but with a more modern tube chassis with a Corvette C4 suspension.

PHOTOS BY STEVE TEMPLE