The SP40 Restomod Speedster is presented not just as a vehicle, but as a piece of kinetic architecture, a sublime study in bridging the Art Deco spirit of the 1930s with the ultra-lightweight technology of today. Crafted by Iconic Auto Sports, an award-winning low-volume Argentinian atelier, this new SP40 Restomod Speedster pays homage to the legendary 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster, which was originally commissioned by Edsel Ford. Co-founders Francisco Orden and Arturo Arrebillaga have distilled the original’s groundbreaking automotive design—a vision of pure speed—into a contemporary form that declares a powerful commitment to analog artistry in a digital age.
The aesthetic roots of this project lie in the Streamline Moderne movement, a design philosophy inspired by the aerodynamics of aviation. The original Model 40 was born within the Ford Willow Run aircraft plant, reflecting this aeronautical precision. Iconic Auto Sports’ spectacular recreation captures the Model 40’s fluid lines and iconic, low-slung, taper-tailed silhouette, which served as a blueprint for American design of the era. The SP40 Restomod Speedster is a tangible manifestation of this heritage, reimagining the elegance and performance capabilities that Edsel Ford and collaborator Eugene T. Gregorie envisioned a century ago.
The central architecture of the SP40 Restomod Speedster is defined by a crucial material substitution. The original aircraft-grade aluminium bodywork is exchanged for a sculpted, flawless modern carbon fiber body, a material choice that drastically improves lightness and strength. This move brings the car’s structural integrity and technology into the supercar realm, allowing the entire vehicle to weigh a mere 1,190 kilograms. Accented with striking, hand-machined aluminum details, the exterior preserves the striking vintage silhouette while showcasing a profound, almost conceptual, material dialogue between epochs.
Beneath this sculptural shell, the SP40 Restomod Speedster fully embraces the principles of modern engineering for an exhilarating driving experience. The power unit is a Ford Coyote V8 engine, delivering 480+ horsepower, which ensures the vehicle’s dynamic capabilities match its visual promise of speed. This is bolted to a tubular spaceframe chassis, meticulously designed by renowned Argentine engineer Pedro Campo, and paired with a Tremec 5-speed manual transmission and independent double-wishbone suspension. This racing-grade setup ensures sharp, balanced dynamics, deliberately rejecting the soft edges of digital driving aids.
The interior space reinforces the philosophy of pure design and the analog experience. It is a highly personalized cockpit, handcrafted for the client with choices of rich leather, walnut trim, and meticulously detailed carbon fiber and aluminum components. In a clever, nuanced nod to modern engineering, essential amenities like climate control and wireless charging are seamlessly concealed, ensuring the vintage geometry of the dashboard remains dominant. The purposeful analog instrument cluster recalls the tactile purity of a bygone era, favoring functional art over distracting digital interfaces.
This SP40 Restomod Speedster is a declaration that permanence matters in an age of disposability. The creators, who have earned multiple prestigious Autoclasica awards for Best Argentinian Handcrafted Coachbuilders, see this project as an evolution from faithful recreation to an original creation. Each SP40 Restomod Speedster is a one-off creation, exclusively handcrafted and individually numbered, ensuring that no two pieces of this low-volume automotive designare ever the same. For collectors who value the soul of the past and the tactile performance of a true “driver’s car,” this modern masterpiece, now available in the United States, stands as an essential symbol of design sophistication.