Hot Rod Of The Year Andrew Murray Indy/Street Roadster July Issue from some angles, our number one pick for the year might seem like a dark horse, but in the editorial voting, it was surprisingly close to a landslide. Among a field of stellar and stunning cars constructed by some of the top rod shops in the country, if not the world, our winner is-surprise-a chalk-mark special with slightly shambolic bodywork and a timed-out motor from a Chevy van. Why do we like Andrew Murray's home-brew Indy-slash-street roadster so much? Let us count the ways.
First, Andrew's car evokes the fabulous Indy roadsters of the '50s, in the minds of many (like ours, for instance) the coolest race cars ever built. Next, this hot rod was born to run: Andrew not only drives his laydown on the street; he has raced it in vintage road course events, at the drags, and he has even taken it to Bonneville for a top-end charge. We admire the heck out of that. Furthermore, this car exemplifies not one but two movements close to our hearts at HOT ROD: Dare to Be Different and Homebuilt Heroes. Andrew built his unique car from absolute scratch in his own garage, teaching himself the metal-forming arts as he worked, thus proving once again that it's not just the destination, it's the journey and that you can't stand out from the herd by following it. To be sure, it's no show car-but we like that too. In our book, all this makes Andrew Murray's Indy roadster the '08 Hot Rod of the Year.
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