Rigor Motor
This week we explore a car that does not
have a real-life version. although it does borrow some cues from Grandpas Hot Rod in the
Munsters television show. That fact helps tie this casting back to
reality. It is also an automotive era that is nearly lost.
Casting:
The Rigor Motor
started out in 1994. [1] It is still a current casting, showing up
infrequently. It has gone through some minor changes through its run. I love
collecting this casting not only for what it represents but for the attention
to details on this simple casting. The blown monster sized motor reminds me of
the t-bucket hot rods that came from the same era. The exhaust pipes that look like wings
when viewed from above, the skulls for head lights and the bat shape for the
front bumper. There is not a lot of body surface for tampos but again, the
attention to relative detail is fun to examine closer on this model. For
instance, notice the red and gold design. The yellow flames on top also form
the shape of an evil looking skull. The other red model says "thorny graves" which ties into the drag cars from this era / style. The
darkness of this model has stayed true to what it is cast after, a hot rod with
the body shaped like casket. Ironically, it is also clear that the designer
thought this one through as you will notice, there is only one seat.
All in all, this casting is fun to collect and doesn’t
command a premium if you find one at a flea market or online. They may not come
out very often, but they are very common on the pegs. It is also one of the
older cars that has only made one appearance in the treasure hunt line (1999)
and was a fairly common one so it has not claimed the ‘very hard to find’
status just yet. It is a cool casting to have in any collection. It
could be considered part of the fantasy line but at the same time, what the rigor motor
represents, is only found in hot wheels anymore. Additionally, we don’t
have a branding for this model so it is left of the imagination of the owner to
decide the branding for the massive V8 power plant, giving the owner the ability to make this model
a product of their own imagination.
The Essence of Imagination
So you keep hearing about what this casting represents and
the culture it came from. It represents the mid to late 60s. One off Hot Rods were were huge
in the automotive world and drag racing was growing with rail dragsters and modified rails were some of the most exciting. Car designer George Barris was designing all
kinds of one-off hot rods that were stretching the imagination of custom car builders. They were in the movies, on TV and the talk of every
car show they went to, even today if you are lucky enough to be in the presence
of one. These cars were one of a kind
cars that linked the era to the coming space age. Glass bubble tops, big
engines and exposed suspensions. The Munsters obviously was a huge success on
TV and for the car culture. Grandpa drove a casket one seat hot rod, the family
had the Hearse. The Monkees car, the original Batmobile and hundreds of cool
one-off dragsters that were created by Barris and his teams. The "Dragula" that the Rigor Motor is modeled after is listed on Google as one of the creepiest cars ever built. There is a title that I don’t think
anyone has even attempted to take on to this day.
The influence that
George Barris and his creations had to car culture is showing everyone that you
can take the basics of a car (drivetrain and basic functionality) and turn it
into a living and functioning peace of rolling artwork. There are custom car builders out there that still do some creative things with cars but the days of
creating a completely new interpretation of what a car can be are gone. The only time we see this art form is at new car conventions and most of the time, the prototypes never see the road. We are
now focused on the utility and the consumption of the car and not the design elements. Custom Hot Rods of this scale are only seen at car shows and sometimes never come off the trailer they were brought in on.
So thank you Mattel for continuing to offer this model and
a glimpse at a time where ingenuity and creativity with reference to
automobiles and Hot Rods were reaching outside the norms.
As always, although I own the diecast pictured in these
posts, all artwork, logos, car names, paint descriptions and wheel descriptions
are copyrights of the Mattel toy company.
All references of George Barris and his creations are trademarks of Barris Custom Coachworks.
All references of George Barris and his creations are trademarks of Barris Custom Coachworks.
Great write up and an excellent car too....
ReplyDeleteThank you, I really enjoyed thinking about this one and putting it into words. The next one is being reviewed and I am equally excited. Thank you for the comment.
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