The one-off 1952 Astra Coupé, designed and built in California by 25-year-old Jay Everett, is heading to auction via Broad Arrow’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este sale on May 16-17, 2026.
Conceived as an antidote to contemporary automotive design, the car was built in a small garage behind Everett’s home – according to an interview in the January 1954 issue of Hot Rod Magazine, he said he was “tired of looking at lead barges”. He had briefly attended the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena before undertaking the project independently. After less than two years of work, the completed car made its public debut at the 1953 Petersen Motorama.
Unlike most customs of the period, the Astra was not based on an existing production car. Everett developed it from scratch, commissioning a bespoke tubular chassis constructed from oval-section steel tubing by Paul Koonz. The structure used aircraft-style construction techniques, with a framework of smaller tubes defining the body shape before aluminium panels were formed over it.
The body itself was hand-formed in aluminium by Jack Sutton and Dennis Powers using one of the earliest applications of an English wheel in the United States. The result was a fully bespoke shell, incorporating a fastback profile, enclosed forms and integrated detailing. Some glazing components were adapted from production cars, including a 1952 Cadillac windscreen and Chevrolet Fleetline rear glass.
As originally conceived, the design featured distinctive front and rear treatments. Both grilles were fabricated from flat stock and tubing, while the rear incorporated a Kamm-style tail housing a rear-mounted radiator. This layout used low-pressure airflow to assist cooling. At the front, the entire nose section hinged forward in a clamshell arrangement, providing access to the mechanical components. The overall form combined a fastback profile with sharply defined edges and pronounced wheelarches.
The car was reviewed in the September 1955 issue of Motor Trend, before reappearing in the May 1956 issue of Rod & Custom following a significant redesign and the adoption of the Astra Coupé name. Changes included a narrower front end with a lower intake feeding a front-mounted radiator, revised fenders and updated lighting plus intake details influenced by mid-1950s Lincoln models. The rear section was enclosed, retaining its structural lattice appearance, while the tail-lights were separated into distinct stop and reverse units and the deck lid incorporated a machined-aluminium fuel filler.
The interior was also revised, replacing the original bench with bucket seats. A floor-mounted gear selector, adapted from a shortened Cadillac column-shift mechanism, was installed. Everett fabricated many interior components himself, including the banjo-style steering wheel, aluminium trim and a column-mounted gauge pod fitted with Stewart-Warner instruments. Power was provided by a 1952 Oldsmobile 303ci Rocket V8 engine, with exhausts exiting through side pipes in the rocker panels.
Everett sold the car in the late 1950s before co-founding Scale Design. His later professional career saw him become a successful model maker. His subsequent work included contributions to the design of the Michelob beer bottle, pre-production models for Charles and Ray Eames’ moulded plastic chairs, Polaroid cameras and exhibition projects for Eero Saarinen.
The Astra was acquired by Dick Hoy, associated with George Barris’ workshop, and it is believed to have been refreshed at Barris’ shop, including a repaint. It later passed to machinist Johnny Morris, before being purchased in 1979 by Fred Torrisi of Antique Auto Parts. At that time, the car was stored under a collapsed carport. Following Torrisi’s death in 1990, ownership passed to his daughter Brandy Torrisi, who relocated it to the Pacific Northwest. She sold the car in 2004 to artist Jeff Allison.
After the car was identified, JF Launier of JF Kustoms commenced with a full restoration. The project required a complete rebuild, although its original structure remained intact. The body could not be dismantled without reversing Everett’s original construction methods, including complex multi-piece aluminium assemblies. A dedicated rotisserie was built, and the car was restored to its 1955 specification, retaining the Oldsmobile V8, revised bodywork and interior configuration.
The restoration was completed in approximately ten months, and the finished Astra Coupé debuted at the 2007 Paso Robles kustom and hot rod event, where members of Everett’s family, including his brother John and daughter Kim Everett-Enriquez, saw the car for the first time in decades.
More recently, the Astra Coupé has been in the Austrian collection of Franz Millnertisch, who recommissioned the car for driving use, refinished the paint and updated certain functional elements. Following road certification, the Astra Coupé was displayed at the 2017 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. It’s now being offered for sale with no reserve, estimated at between €150k and €250k.
More details on the Astra Coupé can be found here.
Broad Arrow’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este sale takes place on May 16-17, 2026. More details here.
