The Hustler 6 in Wood. Photos courtesy RM Sotheby's.
The Hustler, a 1978 design exercise from Aston Martin Lagonda stylist William Towns, wasn't envisioned as a production vehicle, or even (initially) as a build-it-yourself kit. Journalistic approval and popular demand dictated otherwise, and a decade or so later, Towns's Interstyl Studios ended production after supplying hundreds of Hustler kits, in numerous variants. Among the most striking was the Hustler 6 In-Wood, introduced at the 1980 Earls Court Motor Show in London, England; fittingly, a six-wheeled Hustler in Wood will cross the auction stage at London's Battersea Evolution on September 7 as part of the RM Sothebys sale.
Following his time with Aston Martin, William Towns wanted to design cars that were simple, versatile, and affordable to own, and the Hustler met all of these requirements. Based upon Austin Mini components, including front and rear subframes, suspension, engine and transmission, the Hustler kit included a steel floor pan, fiberglass body panels and sliding "windoors" that gave the Hustler a massive greenhouse (and, we suspect, superior outward visibility). Once the production of kits was decided upon, Towns first approached Jensen, but the two could not come to terms, prompting Towns and Interstyl to manufacture the kits in house.
The initial Hustler models featured four wheels, two windoors and a top-hinged rear hatch, plus an interior that defined "Spartan" with injection molded seating and a rubber-mat floor. In addition to sourcing the Mini bits, buyers also had to procure marine-grade plywood, which was wrapped in vinyl and bolted to a supplied alloy frame to form the roof. The simplicity of the kit and the car's construction prompted many owners to customize their Hustlers with more conventional seating and more upscale interior appointments (such as carpeting).
The Hustler kits sold well initially, but buyers soon began to request a variant with a bit more interior room, so Towns created a six-wheeled model built with a pair of Mini rear subframes instead of a single unit. As with the original, power was sent solely to the front wheels, with output depending upon the engine chosen by the builder.
The sheer number of Hustler variations designed by Towns and produced by Interstyl was impressive, if perhaps impractical. The Hustler Sprint was the sportiest of the lot, featuring a front air dam, fender flares, 2+2 seating, a lower roofline and a steeply raked windshield. The Hustler Hellcat was as de-contented as one could get, supplied with only a clamshell hood as a body panel and available with four or six wheels. The Hustler Hobo was a pickup truck variant, while the later Hustler Huntsman used mechanicals from the larger Austin Metro. For the money-was-no-object crowd, the Hustler Highlander was a luxury version powered by a Jaguar V-12, though it isn't clear how many of these were produced.
In fact, it isn't clear how many Hustlers kits were built in total, with some sources saying 200 and others saying 500. Even the model count differs by source, though here it's probably safe to say that over the course of a decade, more than a dozen different Hustler models were available for purchase at one time or another.
Simple though the basic Hustler may have been, Towns's quest for an even more basic model led to the creation of the Hustler-In-Wood. With customers supplying their own marine grade plywood to create body panels, Interstyl could forego the cost of producing and shipping fiberglass panels, thus reducing the cost of the kit for buyers. On their end, buyers could choose the material best suited to their budget, from simple plywood through more exotic choices like teak or mahogany, as well as the amount of labor, and spar varnish, that went into final finishing. Though the number of Hustler-In-Wood kits produced before production ended is murky, the model was available in both four and six-wheeled forms.
The six-wheel Hustler-In-Wood to be sold in London comes powered by a 1.3-liter overhead valve four-cylinder, rated at 56 horsepower and mated to a four-speed manual transmission. Inside, the Hustler features seating for up to 10 passengers, who will surely appreciate the luxury of brightly colored padded vinyl seating over injection-molded plastic. This example appears to have been constructed sans windoors, aiding passenger ventilation, and its buyer will need a sense of whimsy as well as a love of all things nautical. In a sea of Fiat Jollys and Mini Mokes, this is one yacht tender that will stand out in a crowd, and RM Sotheby's is predicting a selling price between £20,000 and £30,000 ($26,300 – $39,500) when the Hustler crosses the block next month.
For more on the upcoming London sale, visit RMSothebys.com.
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/2byNje2
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